Off the Beaten Track: a Postmodern Feminist Analysis of Rural Midwifery and Rural Media Health Discourses

<p>Change was a constant companion for New Zealand midwives during the 1990's. The Nurses Amendment Act 1990, that restored midwifery autonomy was only one of a constellation of changes that saw significant restructuring of the health services in small communities. The purpose of this study was to look at the issues for a group of midwives in rural South Otago who took the opportunity to work independently and offer local women a choice of maternity care during this time. In this study, five rural midwives were interviewed and met subsequently in a focus group. The transcripts were analyzed using discourse analysis informed by a postmodern/feminist theoretical framework. In addition the local newspapers covering the years 1990-1999 were read with a particular focus on the reports of health changes. These texts were also subjected to a discourse analysis using Lyotard's (1997) notion of language games, and bell hook's (1990) ideas around strategic positioning for the marginalised. To practise autonomously, the midwives in this study perform an intricate dance, balancing the contradictions of competing discourses. Their positioning and place of difference is tensioned primarily by a deep sense of community commitment and entanglement, and also by a feeling of physical and perceptual distance from their urban midwifery colleagues. This is underpinned by a staunch belief in women's ability to birth safely in their local area. The findings of this study suggest that the continuation of a comprehensive rural midwifery service is challenged by changes in the arrangement and funding of rural health, plus the increasing use of medical and technological intervention in childbirth. For rural midwifery to survive, this study shows that midwives need to remain flexible and alert while continuing to align themselves with women who are their primary source of support and inspiration. At the same time, they need to forge strategic linkages and alliances, both local and national that will allow them to move and reposition in order to continue their work and provide a realistic childbirth choice for rural women.</p>

Off the Beaten Track: a Postmodern Feminist Analysis of Rural Midwifery and Rural Media Health Discourses

<p>Change was a constant companion for New Zealand midwives during the 1990's. The Nurses Amendment Act 1990, that restored midwifery autonomy was only one of a constellation of changes that saw significant restructuring of the health services in small communities. The purpose of this study was to look at the issues for a group of midwives in rural South Otago who took the opportunity to work independently and offer local women a choice of maternity care during this time. In this study, five rural midwives were interviewed and met subsequently in a focus group. The transcripts were analyzed using discourse analysis informed by a postmodern/feminist theoretical framework. In addition the local newspapers covering the years 1990-1999 were read with a particular focus on the reports of health changes. These texts were also subjected to a discourse analysis using Lyotard's (1997) notion of language games, and bell hook's (1990) ideas around strategic positioning for the marginalised. To practise autonomously, the midwives in this study perform an intricate dance, balancing the contradictions of competing discourses. Their positioning and place of difference is tensioned primarily by a deep sense of community commitment and entanglement, and also by a feeling of physical and perceptual distance from their urban midwifery colleagues. This is underpinned by a staunch belief in women's ability to birth safely in their local area. The findings of this study suggest that the continuation of a comprehensive rural midwifery service is challenged by changes in the arrangement and funding of rural health, plus the increasing use of medical and technological intervention in childbirth. For rural midwifery to survive, this study shows that midwives need to remain flexible and alert while continuing to align themselves with women who are their primary source of support and inspiration. At the same time, they need to forge strategic linkages and alliances, both local and national that will allow them to move and reposition in order to continue their work and provide a realistic childbirth choice for rural women.</p>

Content and framing in radio news bulletins in urban and rural Hungary

This analysis provides a detailed snapshot of the radio news landscape in Hungary, a European-Union-member ‘illiberal state’ in mid-April 2018, a few weeks after the general election. In this study, we wished to quantitatively characterize radio news broadcasts. This is the first study that provides a detailed analysis of contemporary radio news output across all formats, target audiences, owners and regions in Hungary. The study uses several quantitative and geographic indicators that include objective elements such as news ecosystem diversity, local news production, news about local issues, sound bites, credited political press, news sections and more subjective news framing and a framing-based bias indicator. Our results show that the ideological diversity of radio news was far the highest in the Budapest region. MTVA, the state media provider had significantly more politically biased news than other stations. Local radios never criticized local public affairs. A few stations in Budapest did broadcast balanced, pro-opposition and critical news, but they were in minority over pro-government news items that dominated the rural media landscape with significantly less choice.

Acessibilidade na atenção primária: como avaliam os profissionais de saúde?

Objetivo: avaliar a presença e extensão do atributo acesso de primeiro contato - componente acessibilidade, na perspectiva dos profissionais de atenção primária à saúde. Método: estudo transversal realizado em 62 unidades de atenção primária à saúde, por meio da autoaplicação do Primary Care Assessment Tool com 546 profissionais (60,3% da população elegível). O banco de dados foi criado no software Epi-Info (versão 7), e a digitação realizada por entrada dupla. A análise foi realizada no software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (versão 22). Para as comparações entre os grupos, foi utilizado o teste U de Mann Whitney para amostras independentes. Resultados: a acessibilidade mostrou-se insatisfatória (média 3,5). Não foi identificada diferença significativa entre os modelos de atenção (p=0,275). A área rural (média 3,9) apresentou melhor desempenho quando comparada à área urbana (média 3,5). Considerações finais: evidenciou-se necessidade de implementar estratégias relacionadas ao aspecto estrutural do serviço que busquem ampliação ao acesso.

Educação popular feminina: uma análise em Enrique Dussel sobre a libertação da mulher em meios rurais na primeira metade do século XX / Female popular education: an analysis in Enrique Dussel on liberation woman in rural media in the first half of the 20th Century

Este artigo traz uma reflexão teórica a respeito dos caminhos da mulher analfabeta que consegue a libertação por meio da educação popular. Trazendo uma abordagem em torno dos conceitos de libertação do filósofo Enrique Dussel, este texto prioriza práticas de educação popular em meios carentes. Metodologicamente, sob o olhar de Enrique Dussel, este caminhar reflete a busca da mulher como forma de libertação ao meio culturalmente e socialmente opressor, no intuito de se desvencilhar de uma consciência subalternizada pelo colonialismo. Neste despertar e neste encontro consigo mesma, a mulher que consegue se libertar por meio de uma educação popular recria seus caminhos. Conclui-se que os investimentos na alfabetização para as mulheres trazem retornos sociais altos: melhora a saúde das famílias e traz uma conscientização do dever de motivar seus filhos também a estudar. Mulheres recém-alfabetizadas melhoram os indicadores de desenvolvimento e, portanto, todos os cidadãos, instituições e organismos governamentais deveriam estar comprometidos para a alfabetização destas mulheres que tanto tem sofrido com a opressão ao longo da história.* * *This article brings a theoretical reflection on the ways of the illiterate woman who obtains the liberation through the popular education. Bringing an approach around the concepts of liberation of the philosopher Enrique Dussel, this text prioritizes practices of popular education in needy environments. Methodologically, under the watchful eye of Enrique Dussel, this walk reflects the search of the woman as a way of liberation to the environment culturally and socially oppressive, in order to get rid of a conscience subalternizada by colonialism. In this awakening and in this encounter with herself, the woman who is able to free herself through a popular education recreates her ways. It is concluded that investments in literacy for women bring high social returns: it improves the health of families and brings an awareness of the duty to motivate their children to study. Newly literate women improve development indicators and therefore all citizens, institutions and government agencies should be committed to the literacy of these women who have suffered so much from oppression throughout history.

Viabilidade econômica do financiamento de uma unidade armazenadora de grãos em Sorriso (MT)

A região Médio Norte do estado de Mato Grosso possui grande área dedicada à produção de soja e milho, porém, a capacidade estática da região está aquém da necessária. Tendo em vista essa oportunidade, foi elaborado um projeto para testar a viabilidade econômica da implantação de uma unidade armazenadora de grãos no município de Sorriso (MT). Utilizou-se do Programa para Construção e Ampliação de Armazéns (PCA) que dispõe de uma linha de crédito via BNDES com juros subsidiados para construção de unidade armazenadora própria para produtores rurais, cooperativas e agroindústrias. A capacidade estática do armazém foi dimensionada para 101 mil sacas de grãos, capaz de armazenar 60% da produção anual de uma propriedade rural média de 1.000 hectares. Foram definidos orçamentos com custo de implantação e de manutenção da unidade por meio de pesquisa realizada com produtores rurais e empresas da região. O projeto utilizou de instrumentos de análise financeira de viabilidade: valor presente líquido (VPL), taxa interna de retorno (TIR) e taxa interna de retorno modificada (MTIR), além do “payback”, com intuito de definir, num horizonte de 20 anos, o prazo mínimo para retorno. O projeto apresentou viabilidade econômica superior à taxa mínima de atratividade, resultando num VPL de R$ 1.996.262,01, “payback” de doze anos, quatro meses e vinte sete dias, tornando-se rentável, uma vez que a vida útil do empreendimento é superior ao “payback”. Após esta vida útil, o produtor terá agregado valor à produção, gerando ganhos/economias em sua propriedade rural.

Rural Media Spaces: Communication Geography on New Terrain

No abstract available.