Doro Rekufa and Tsvitsa: Beer, Animals and Death Rituals among the Ndau of South Eastern Zimbabwe

Utafiti ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Plan Shenjere-Nyabezi
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Death Rituals ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Attitudes Towards Death ◽  
Death Signals

Despite Westernization and particularly the advent of Christianity and its widespread entrenchment on the African continent, traditional indigenous rituals continue to constitute an integral part of African religious belief systems and practices. This article presents the results of an ethnoarchaeological study of two death rituals that are conducted by the Ndau people of south eastern Zimbabwe. The rituals are a demonstration of attitudes towards death and beliefs about the role of the dead among the living. The Ndau do not believe that death signals and represents the end of life. In the same vein and perhaps more importantly, the Ndau do not believe that death just happens. It is caused by human agency out of jealousies, hatred and conflict among the living. These beliefs are central to the two rituals presented and discussed here: the first ritual is conducted to ascertain cause of death and the second to bring back the spirit of the deceased from a temporary state of limbo immediately after death. Meat and beer are central to these rituals, firstly as offerings to the deceased and secondly as an important part of the living celebration of the rituals. The paper then explores some interpretive implications of the rituals from an archaeological perspective.

Wiser Reasoning and Less Disgust Have the Potential to Better Achieve Suicide Prevention

Crisis ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Chao S. Hu ◽  
Jiajia Ji ◽  
Jinhao Huang ◽  
Zhe Feng ◽  
Dong Xie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Emotional Reaction ◽  
Suicide Method ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Advice Giving ◽  
Prevention Techniques

Abstract. Background: High school and university teachers need to advise students against attempting suicide, the second leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds. Aims: To investigate the role of reasoning and emotion in advising against suicide. Method: We conducted a study with 130 students at a university that specializes in teachers' education. Participants sat in front of a camera, videotaping their advising against suicide. Three raters scored their transcribed advice on "wise reasoning" (i.e., expert forms of reasoning: considering a variety of conditions, awareness of the limitation of one's knowledge, taking others' perspectives). Four registered psychologists experienced in suicide prevention techniques rated the transcripts on the potential for suicide prevention. Finally, using the software Facereader 7.1, we analyzed participants' micro-facial expressions during advice-giving. Results: Wiser reasoning and less disgust predicted higher potential for suicide prevention. Moreover, higher potential for suicide prevention was associated with more surprise. Limitations: The actual efficacy of suicide prevention was not assessed. Conclusion: Wise reasoning and counter-stereotypic ideas that trigger surprise probably contribute to the potential for suicide prevention. This advising paradigm may help train teachers in advising students against suicide, measuring wise reasoning, and monitoring a harmful emotional reaction, that is, disgust.

Digital Borders, Diasporic Flows and the Nigerian Transgender Beauty Queen Who Would Not Be Denied

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
B Camminga
Keyword(s):  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Transgender People ◽  
Beauty Pageant ◽  
Global North ◽  
Lgbt People ◽  
Tabloid Press

In 2011, Miss Sahhara, a transgender woman from Nigeria with UK refugee status, was crowned First Princess at the world’s largest and most prestigious beauty pageant for transgender women—Miss International Queen. The then Cultural Minister of Nigeria when contacted for comment responded that if she was transgender, she could not be Nigerian, and if she was Nigerian, she could not be transgender—a tacit denial of her very existence. In recent years, LGBT people “fleeing Africa” to the “Global North” has become a common media trope. Responses to this, emanating from a variety of African voices, have provided a more nuanced reading of sexuality. What has been absent from these readings has been the role of gender expression, particularly a consideration of transgender experiences. I understand transgender refugees to have taken up “lines of flight” such that, in a Deleuzian sense, they do not only flee persecution in countries of origin but also recreate or speak back to systems of control and oppressive social conditions. Some transgender people who have left, like Miss Sahhara, have not gone silently, using digital means to project a new political visibility of individuals, those who are both transgender and African, back at the African continent. In Miss Sahhara’s case, this political visibility has not gone unnoticed in the Nigerian tabloid press. Drawing on the story of Miss Sahhara, this paper maps these flows and contraflows, asking what they might reveal about configurations of nationhood, gender and sexuality as they are formed at both the digital and physical interstices between Africa and the Global North.

scholarly journals Before the 2020 Pandemic: an observational study exploring public knowledge, attitudes, plans, and preferences towards death and end of life care in Wales

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ishrat Islam ◽  
Annmarie Nelson ◽  
Mirella Longo ◽  
Anthony Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
Service Utilisation ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Manner Of Death ◽  
Attitudes Towards Death

Abstract Background Understanding public attitudes towards death and dying is important to inform public policies around End of Life Care (EoLC). We studied the public attitudes towards death and dying in Wales. Methods An online survey was conducted in 2018. Social media and the HealthWiseWales platform were used to recruit participants. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Results 2,210 people participated. Loss of independence (84%), manner of death, and leaving their beloved behind were the biggest fears around death and dying. In terms of EoLC, participants sought timely access to care (84%) and being surrounded by loved ones (62%). Being at home was less of a priority (24%). Only 50% were familiar with Advance Care Planning (ACP). A lack of standard procedures as well as of support for the execution of plans and the ability to revisit those plans hindered uptake. The taboo around death conversations, the lack of opportunities and skills to initiate discussion, and personal fear and discomfort inhibited talking about death and dying. 72% felt that we do not talk enough about death and dying and advocated normalising talking by demystifying death with a positive approach. Health professionals could initiate and support this conversation, but this depended on communication skills and manageable workload pressure. Participants encouraged a public health approach and endorsed the use of: a) social media and other public platforms, b) formal education, c) formal and legal actions, and d) signposting and access to information. Conclusions People are ready to talk about death and dying and COVID-19 has increased awareness. A combination of top-down and bottom-up initiatives across levels and settings can increase awareness, knowledge, and service-utilisation-drivers to support health professionals and people towards shared decisions which align with people’s end of life wishes and preferences.

scholarly journals Prognostic predictors relevant to end-of-life palliative care in Parkinson’s disease and related disorders: a systematic review

2021 ◽  
pp. jnnp-2020-323939
Author(s):  
Umer Akbar ◽  
Robert Brett McQueen ◽  
Julienne Bemski ◽  
Julie Carter ◽  
Elizabeth R Goy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Motor Dysfunction ◽  
Clinical Markers ◽  
Hospice Referral ◽  
Survey Responses

Parkinson’s disease and related disorders (PDRD) are the second most common neurodegenerative disease and a leading cause of death. However, patients with PDRD receive less end-of-life palliative care (hospice) than other illnesses, including other neurologic illnesses. Identification of predictors of PDRD mortality may aid in increasing appropriate and timely referrals. To systematically review the literature for causes of death and predictors of mortality in PDRD to provide guidance regarding hospice/end-of-life palliative care referrals. We searched MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE and CINAHL databases (1970–2020) of original quantitative research using patient-level, provider-level or caregiver-level data from medical records, administrative data or survey responses associated with mortality, prognosis or cause of death in PDRD. Findings were reviewed by an International Working Group on PD and Palliative Care supported by the Parkinson’s Foundation. Of 1183 research articles, 42 studies met our inclusion criteria. We found four main domains of factors associated with mortality in PDRD: (1) demographic and clinical markers (age, sex, body mass index and comorbid illnesses), (2) motor dysfunction and global disability, (3) falls and infections and (4) non-motor symptoms. We provide suggestions for consideration of timing of hospice/end-of-life palliative care referrals. Several clinical features of advancing disease may be useful in triggering end-of-life palliative/hospice referral. Prognostic studies focused on identifying when people with PDRD are nearing their final months of life are limited. There is further need for research in this area as well as policies that support need-based palliative care for the duration of PDRD.

Death, taxes and uncertainty: Economic motivations in end-of-life decision making

2021 ◽  
pp. 147775092110114
Author(s):  
George Slade Mellgard ◽  
Jacob M Appel
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Ethical Conflicts ◽  
Financial Interests ◽  
End Of Life Decision ◽  
Death Taxes

Economic motivations are key drivers of human behavior. Unfortunately, they are largely overlooked in literature related to medical decisionmaking, particularly with regard to end-of-life care. It is widely understood that the directions of a proxy acting in bad faith can be overridden. But what of cases in which the proxy or surrogate appears to be acting in good faith to effectuate the patient’s values, yet doing so directly serves the decision-maker’s financial interests? Such situations are not uncommon. Many patients care as deeply about economic wellbeing of their families as they do for their own lives and health. This brief work examines three scenarios that raise ethical issues regarding the role of pecuniary motives in making critical medical decisions. Each scenario presents a potential financial conflict of interest between an incapacitated patient and a third-party decision-maker and offers a framework for integrating ethical and legal concerns into clinical care. It is our hope that this work prepares physicians for unexpected ethical conflicts of interest and enables them to further the interests of his or her patients.

EXPRESS: Religious Belief, Religious Priming, and Negative Word-of-Mouth in Everyday Service Failure Encounters

2021 ◽  
pp. 002224372110111
Author(s):  
Riza Casidy ◽  
Adam Duhachek ◽  
Vishal Singh ◽  
Ali Tamaddoni
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Negative Word ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Fairness Norms ◽  
Strategic Variable

This research examines the effects of religious belief and religious priming on negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) behavior. Drawing on social exchange and norm paradigms, we theorize and find evidence of the unique effects of religious belief and religious priming on NWOM in everyday service failure encounters. Specifically, we find that religious belief is associated with higher NWOM, driven by a greater sensitivity to violations of fairness norms, which in turn reduces forgiveness. However, exposure to religious priming attenuates NWOM among more religious consumers by reducing sensitivity to violations of fairness norms, which in turn enhances forgiveness. A field study involving over 1.2 million online reviews of actual restaurant experiences, in addition to four lab studies, provides support for our theorized effects. Our study sheds light on the religion–forgiveness discrepancy by establishing the mediating role of sensitivity to fairness violations on the relationship between religion and forgiveness in the NWOM context. Further, our results demonstrate the importance of religion as a strategic variable in the management of service failure experiences, providing theoretical implications for the literature on the effects of religion on consumer behavior.

scholarly journals The Role of Gender and Situational Factors in Wine Consumption of Generation Y

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmina Dlačić ◽  
Selma Kadić-Maglajlić
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Generation Y ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Wine Consumption ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
South Eastern Europe ◽  
Practical Implications

Abstract The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors influencing wine consumption of Generation Y consumers in the context of two countries from South-Eastern Europe (Bosnia -Herzegovina, and Croatia). Analysis reveals that self-expression, sociability, tradition and food are significant predictors of wine consumption. Multivariate regressions have been applied in order to explain the influences of the abovementioned factors on wine consumption. Research findings show that specific gender and situational differences exist in the wine consumption behaviour of Generation Y. This paper discusses theoretical, empirical and practical implications, and offers ideas for further research

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