Lauku iedzīvotāju nosaukumi lietuviešu un latviešu valodā

The aim of the research is to find out what words are used in Lithuanian and Latvian to name the rural population. The study was performed by applying descriptive, comparative and quantitative methods. The novelty of the article is the presentation of the Lithuanian language material in Latvian, as well as the analysis of the Latvian language material and the comparison of the meanings and use of Lithuanian and Latvian words. The study is sociolinguistic, not normative; therefore, not only systematic but also contextual, situational synonymy is important. Dictionaries and texts of literary and common languages, synonyms, slang and jargon, the text of the current Lithuanian language (Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos tekstynas) and the Latvian language text corpus (Latviešu valodas tekstu korpuss), are the main sources. A Lithuanian word kaimietis (‘a villager’), which has long been a neutral name for a rural resident or a person born in a village, is a synonym for both neutral and stylistically connoted words. The most common synonyms are sodietis (‘a homestead peasant’) and valstietis (‘a peasant’). In this synonym sequence, a peasant is a remote word that includes the concept “kaimo gyventojas” (‘a rural resident’) and the concept “žemdirbys” (‘an agriculturalist’), thus linking the synonym sequence of the word a villager to a word farmer in the sequence of synonyms ūkininkas (‘a farmer’), laukininkas (‘a field peasant’). Recently, the word kaimietis (‘a villager’) has acquired a second – pejorative – meaning: “sakoma apie neišsilavinusį, prasto skonio ir pan. žmogų, kuris nebūtinai kilęs iš kaimo” (‘it is said of an uneducated, a person of poor taste, and so on, a person who does not necessarily come from the countryside’). It is already recorded in the written dictionary of the common language, which indicates that the common connoted meaning in slang is codified. The word kaimietis (‘a villager’), used in a pejorative sense, appears in the order of words that have a systemic or contextual pejorative meaning, as well as in a despising way: prastuolis, prasčiokas, mužikas, runkelis. The name of the villager in Latvian – the word laucinieks (‘a villager’) – is stylistically neutral, its synonyms consist of the neutral words lauksaimnieks (‘a farmer’) and zemnieks (‘a peasant’). The word zemnieks, similarly to the valstietis (‘a peasant’) in Lithuanian, is the dominant in the order of distant synonyms zemkopis (‘an agriculturalist’) and zemesrūķis [?]. The approach to the synonym sādžinieks (‘a homestead peasant’) is ambiguous: its definition in current dictionaries associates the word either with Latgale or Russia, although according to its origin, it is considered to be a borrowing from the Lithuanian language. The word with root lauk- (from word ‘field’) lauķis [?] is used in a pejorative sense in Latvian (its shade is similar to the Lithuanian words prasčiokas (‘a hick’) and runkelis (‘a person as mindless as a beetroot’)), as well as slang word pāķis [?] and barbarisms – slavism mužiks (‘a kern’), Germanism bauris [?] (in jargon bauers). The material of Lithuanian and Latvian texts shows that in both Lithuanian and Latvian, the words of different connotations are used synonymously in different contexts.

Empirical Study on the Impact of Urban and Rural Resident Basic Medical Insurance on Children's Educational Outcomes

This paper employs data from the 2016 and 2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to study the impact of participation in Urban and Rural Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URRBMI) on children's educational outcomes by using the logit model, double selection Lasso model, and propensity score matching. It is found that participating in URRBMI has no significant effect on children's Chinese performance, but has a significant negative effect on children's mathematics performance. The negative effect is more obvious for children who participating in the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS). The paper also studies the channel effects of participation in URRBMI on children's educational outcomes trough two different ways. It is noticed that both channel effects are not significant, that is, participation in URRBMI neither improves children's health nor changes household education expenditures.

Multilevel analysis of factors associated with HIV among women of reproductive age (15–49 years old) in Ethiopia: Bayesian approach

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Sub-Saharan Africa regions are the most affected regions and accounted for 67% of HIV infections worldwide, and 72% of the world’s AIDS-related deaths. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of HIV and identify factors associated with it among women of reproductive age in Ethiopia. Methods: This study was conducted based on the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys data. The data were weighted using sampling weight for probability sampling and non-response to restore the representativeness of the data and get valid statistical estimates. Then, a total of 14,161 weighted sample women were used to investigate the study. Finally, a multilevel analysis was done based on the Bayesian approach to identify factors associated with HIV among women of reproductive age in Ethiopia. Results: This study showed the prevalence of HIV among reproductive age group women was 0.85%. Being rural resident (adjusted odds ratio = 0.20; 95% CrI = 0.1–0.4), secondary education level (adjusted odds ratio = 0.20; 95% CrI = 0.1–0.4), rich wealth status (adjusted odds ratio = 4; 95% CrI = 3–6), married women but living separately (adjusted odds ratio = 2.3; 95% CrI = 1.2–4.5), long distance from the health facility (adjusted odds ratio = 0.4; 95% CrI = 0.3–0.5), and exposure to media (adjusted odds ratio = 2.9; 95% CrI = 1.8–4.7) were significantly associated with HIV. Conclusion: Being rural residents, women whose marital status is separated, wealthy, travel a long distance to get health facility, and are exposed to media are risky to be infected by HIV. Whereas being a rural resident and educated are preventive factors for HIV. Therefore, the government of Ethiopia and the ministry of health should consider those factors when they design HIV prevention and control strategies.

Does the connotation of the word KAIMIETIS ‘countryman’ change?

The recording of the derogatory meaning of the kaimietis ‘countryman’ in the Dictionary of the General Lithuanian Language and the recently spread statement among linguists that a new negative connotation (meaning) of the word kaimietis has appeared, led to the analysis of the usage of the word. For the research of sociolinguistic and stylistic interpretation of the word, material was collected from the Fiction and Press sections of the Corpus of the Contemporary Lithuanian Language (CCLL). In addition, examples from dictionaries, media, works of Lithuanian fiction and other contemporary texts were collected.Since many years, in its main meaning, the word kaimietis has remained functionally stylistically and evaluatively neutral word meaning a rural resident (less often a person of rural origin). In almost one-fifth of the examined contexts of the word kaimietis, the word itself has an evaluative tone that is emphasized in one way or another; the number of contexts of positive and negative evaluation differs little. 1375 examples found in CCLL of usage of nouns kaimietis ‘countryman’, kaimietė ‘countrywoman’ in all forms in the contexts were distributed according to the content as follows: neutral (~ 83%), negative (~ 10%) and positive (~ 7%).From the modern language usage data, it is clear that it is purposeful to talk about the systematic connotation of the noun kaimietis when its meaning is not a “rural resident” (“peasant”) or “a person of rural origin”, but a certain stereotype, usually with negative uneducated and similar characteristics. The recording of the derogatory meaning of the kaimietis, kaimietė in the Dictionary of the General Lithuanian Language is a case of legitimation of the penetration of low-style means of expression into neutral-style discourse and such manifestations. The fact that the word countryman, having the derogatory meaning “ignorant, etc.”, does not necessarily apply to the countryman, does not in any way diminish the denigration of the rural man. The one-sided negative attitude towards the countryman arises from a superficial knowledge of the village, certain ideological attitudes, as well as from a person’s spiritual immaturity, urban pride; it spreads and has an effect because of the urban territories.Contexts of unfavorable evaluation are not a new phenomenon: reflections of a negative kaimietis connotation also exist in old phraseology, interwar and later texts in journalism and fiction. Negative evaluation of rurality is especially strong in slang, jargon, and low culture in general. This connotation is reinforced by the denigration of the language of the villagers. On the other hand, the public has always been characterized by solidarity with the rural man, the ability to appreciate what is good and beautiful in the village.

Behavioral Profiles and Attitude toward Condom Use among College Students in Southwest Ethiopia

Background. Unsafe sexual behavior among adolescents still represents a public health challenge. To have safe sex, effective condom utilization is needed. Condom use remains relatively low among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. Even though adolescents have good knowledge about condom use, they are still engaged in risky sexual behavior. Objective. To assess condom use and attitude toward condom use among college students in southwest Ethiopia. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 453 students at Mizan-Aman Polytechnic College in southwest Ethiopia. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire. The collected data were entered using EpiData version 4.2.0.0 and analyzed using SPSS version 20 statistical software. Binary logistic regression was computed. Independent variables with a p value of less than 0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression model were considered significant. Results. Of the 453, 180 were sexually active. Among those sexually active, 119 (66.1%) used condoms in their last sexual intercourse. The proportion of positive attitude toward condom use was 53.4%, and the mean attitude score for condom use was 28.6 (±9.99 SD) ranging from 10 to 50. The study also found that being male (AOR=1.77, 95% CI [1.19-2.65]), rural resident (AOR=2.20, 95% CI [1.47-3.30]), ever had sex (AOR=1.87, 95% CI [1.23-2.85]), and knowledge of STIs (AOR=1.66, 95% CI [1.10-2.51]) were factors associated with a positive attitude toward condom use. Conclusion. The proportion of positive attitude toward condom use among college students in Ethiopia was low. The study also found that being male, rural resident, ever had sex, and knowledge of STIs were factors associated with a positive attitude toward condom use. Therefore, strengthening information, education, and communication (IEC) on condom self-efficacy; providing condoms on campuses; and imparting education about sexually transmitted infections for young adults are central for improving condom use and attitudes toward condom use. Besides, inculcating sexual and reproductive health in the educational curriculum plays paramount importance.

Title: Inadequate level of knowledge, mixed outlook and poor adherence to COVID-19 prevention guideline among Ethiopians (Preprint)

BACKGROUND COVID-19 has a potential to cause chaos in Ethiopia due to the country’s already daunting economic and social challenges. Living and working conditions are highly conducive for transmission, as people live in crowded inter-generational households that often lack running water and other basic sanitary facilities. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of Ethiopians toward COVID-19 following the introduction of state of emergency by the Ethiopian government to curb the spread of the disease. METHODS A cross-sectional study design was conducted in nine regional states and two chartered cities. Data for demographic, knowledge, attitude and practice toward COVID-19 were collected through telephone interview from 1570 participants. Descriptive and bivariate analyses using chi-square test, t-test or analysis of variance were performed as appropriate. Binary and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to measure the relationship between the categorical dependent variables and one or more socio-demographic independent variables with two-tailed at α=0.05 significance level and 95% of confidence interval. RESULTS The level of good knowledge, favourable attitude and good practice among the respondents were 42%, 53.8% and 24.3% respectively. Being rural resident, older than 50 years, having at least primary education, being resident of Amhara and Oromia regions were independent predictors of knowledge level. While being rural resident, married, employed, having at least basic education, being residents of Afar, Amhara, Gambela, Oromia and Somali regions were found to be the best predictors of the attitude, being rural resident, government employee, having at least basic education, and living outside of the capital were the independent predictors of practice level of the respondents CONCLUSIONS The finding revealed that Ethiopians have inadequate level of knowledge and are generally have a mixed outlook on overcoming the pandemic with poor adherence to COVID-19 prevention practice. Reinforcing preventive measures and intensifying sensitization campaigns to fill the knowledge gap and persuading people to follow the preventive measures set by the government with concurrent evaluation of the impacts of these measures on knowledge and practice is highly recommended to mitigate the disease.