Psychodynamic Psychiatry in Argentina at a Crossroads

The authors provide an overview of the history of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychiatry in Argentina. They describe the evolving practice patterns of psychodynamic psychiatrists in this vibrant South American country, highlighting socio-political influences and challenges.

Re-engineering imperatives to enhance the effectiveness of municipal public accounts committees in South African municipalities

Background: After 26 years into democracy and 20 years of the new local government operations, the state of the majority of municipalities in South Africa still leaves much to be desired, as they are plagued with maleficence. What is concerning is that these negative tendencies that are troubling local government occur even under the watchful eye of the municipal public accounts committees (MPACs).Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the composition and the role of MPACs, which have experienced a number of challenges since they were introduced in response to the widely held perception of the culture of lack of accountability in South African municipalities.Methods: This article is theoretical in nature, and it draws its arguments from secondary data in order to understand the composition and the role of MPACs, including its challenges.Results: This study regards the composition of the MPAC as lacking the necessary vigour to be efficient and effective in executing its duties, particularly when considering the challenges and political influences that it tends to face in its operations.Conclusion: The study concludes that there is a need for re-engineering of the composition and the role of the MPAC in order to ensure that it executes its functions efficiently and effectively. Consequently, the study recommends three cardinal pillars that must be given attention in re-engineering the MPAC: policy, authority and power.

Puppets – In Times Of Peace And War

Usually, social crises are associated to socio-political systems, regardless of their intensity. This premise might lead to the following question: what is it that can cause a connection between puppets and such a context? This question was raised by a series of researchers and it determined them to search, find out and interpret. Even a mere scan through the history of animation theatre1 leads to the observation that situations of crisis generate reactions/answers, in terms of performance, that can be subject to: the wish to convey a message (that has the power to influence), an artistic movement – structured as a form of answer, a current of thought – with or without political influences. Boundaries between these are purely theoretical, as the interferences are an indisputable reality. I shall only bring forth several examples, which I consider significant for the three dimensions of the proposed hypothesis that are to be analysed, as it is clear that an exhaustive list of examples would be an almost impossible task; the ephemerality of theatre makes its history hard to trace. Beyond dates, technical systems, puppeteers’ titles and names, whose journeys stand under the sign of relativity, there is a constant: the puppeteers’ presence changes perspectives. It is this aspect which I want to draw attention to, marking the possible development of a future, more ample research.

The fragility of de facto abortion on demand in New Zealand Aotearoa

© 2017, © The Author(s) 2017. On the whole, women in New Zealand have good access to safe and affordable means to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Although seemingly ideal, the current situation is a fragile one. Under current legislation, abortion is criminalised and legal access to it relies on gaining the approval of two certifying consultant physicians. In this report, we provide an historical overview of the social and political influences shaping New Zealand’s current approach to abortion, considering the consequences of having abortion governed by criminal law. The situation in New Zealand is used to support a proposal that a pragmatic liberal feminist approach to abortion is best for women where it is a medical matter rather than a legal or moral one.

The fragility of de facto abortion on demand in New Zealand Aotearoa

© 2017, © The Author(s) 2017. On the whole, women in New Zealand have good access to safe and affordable means to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Although seemingly ideal, the current situation is a fragile one. Under current legislation, abortion is criminalised and legal access to it relies on gaining the approval of two certifying consultant physicians. In this report, we provide an historical overview of the social and political influences shaping New Zealand’s current approach to abortion, considering the consequences of having abortion governed by criminal law. The situation in New Zealand is used to support a proposal that a pragmatic liberal feminist approach to abortion is best for women where it is a medical matter rather than a legal or moral one.

Ambitions of Bushfalling through Further Education: Insights from Students in Cameroonian Universities

Following a surge in civil unrest, the need and ambitions to migrate have increased among young Cameroonians. This article explores how Cameroonian youth and graduates use education as a gateway for migration, selecting new routes and destinations to maximise their chances of migration. Drawing on in-depth interviews with aspiring migrants, I show that long-standing aspirations to migrate have led to a symbiotic relationship between aspiring migrants and migration agents who facilitate and determine the route and destination for the entire process. This relationship reflects aspiring migrants who desire to migrate at all cost rather than planning carefully, often with little information guiding in the process. I argue that migration responds to cultural and political influences as much as ontological (in)security that cannot be defined solely in economic terms. The meaning of ‘successful’ migration is produced and reified through the overt display and interpretations of migration.

Media Framing of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Human Rights Abuses: a Study of The Punch, Vanguard, The Nation and Daily Trust Newspapers

This study explores how four Nigerian newspapers framed President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and its human rights campaign. Using newspaper editorials published in The Punch, The Nation, Daily Trust, and Vanguard newspapers of December 2019 as the object of analysis, the paper draws on the methodological context of such framing to investigate how the selected newspapers framed the human rights situation in Nigeria. This study asserts that those newspapers’ editorials used varieties of framing methods, namely: “unrepentant dictator frame”, “resistance frame”, “indifference frame”, “warning frame”, and “sympathetic” frame to portray the government’s disposition to human rights issues. Furthermore, the paper reveals that the Nigerian media is partisan when it comes to the struggle against human rights while their positions on national issues like the fight against human rights abuse are subject to ethnic and political influences, as evident in the Daily Trust editorial. The study also revealed that editorials can be used as essential tools to curtail the excess of government, precisely, to fight against the abuse of human rights. Finally, the paper recommends that newspaper publishers should limit their editorial influences in day-to-day administration of news outlet to engender objectivity, news balance and accuracy in order not to exacerbate the socio-political situation in a multi-ethnic society such as Nigeria.

Returning to the Roots

This chapter explores the enduring symbiosis between the village motif, social justice, and populist politics in Iran during the first three decades after the revolution. At first, it briefly highlights the evolution of the allegorical village in classical and contemporary Persian poetry. The focus will later be shifted towards the representation of the village in revolutionary poetry. We will see that it has remained a recurring motif in Persian poetry of the post-revolutionary period, employed by a variety of writers and state institutions for a range of means. As a symbol, it has been a conduit into which any ideology can be poured; the village allegory can be manipulated to both condemn and support the official politics of the state. The chapter examines the key socio-political influences behind the evolution of rural themes, the work of official poets, and the impact of the village on the cultural doctrine of the Islamic Republic.

Narratives of the mystical among users of psychedelics

We are now witnessing a radical revival in clinical research on the use of psychedelics (e.g. LSD and psilocybin), where ‘mystical’ experiences are at the centre. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 50 psychedelic drug users, we document how they draw on archetypical mystical narratives, comprising three key dimensions: (1) the transcendence of time and space; (2) deep euphoria; and (3) the perception of being at one with ‘a larger whole’. We suggest that the evolving new cultures around the use of psychedelics contain a variety of narratives, with clear roots in traditional mystical thinking. At the same time, these narratives reflect current cultural and political influences, including the narratives of oneness with plants and animals and our perceived need to protect nature. We conclude that the way people experience mystical occasions due to psychedelic use have archetypical patterns, but culturally specific storylines.