El articulo describe el proceso de creación y difusión de distintas congregaciones cuyo propósito principal era conseguir la solidaridad entre sus miembros. Denominadas muchas veces sociedades de ayuda mutua, entre mediados del siglo XIX y un poco más allá de la mitad del siglo XX, éstas reunieron grupos de artesanos y pequeños comerciantes, identificados en torno a valores de la tradición religiosa cristiana. En ellos se perciben fácilmente legados de las cofradías coloniales, gremios artesanales y sociedades democráticas que, en cierta forma, eran la evolución de las confraternidades espirituales europeas de la edad media. ; The article describes the creation and spreading of the diverse congregations whose main purpose was to maintain solidarity among their members. Often these were called mutual benefit companies, during the middle of the XIX century and half of the XX century. These societies embraced handicrafters and small merchants who identified themselves with Christian tradition values. It is easy to observe in them the legate of the colonial confraternity, artisan associations and democratic societies which somehow were an evolution of the European spiritual confraternities of the middle ages.
Al context espanyol conviuen diferents models teòrics i pràctics que es disputen una definició d'assistència sexual i dels seus potencials beneficiaris i oferents. Aquest article els analitza críticament, manifestant les fantasies que les sustenten i els fantasmes que projecten l'objectiu de situar les controvèrsies que graviten al voltant del tema. Amb aquest objectiu, es parteix de dues etnografies dutes a terme entre els anys 2012-2015, a partir de l'observació participant desenvolupada en diferents projectes d'assistència sexual, i de 15 entrevistes en profunditat de caràcter semi-estructurat realitzades als principals actors implicats. Per l'anàlisi, organitzem el contingut al voltant de tres perspectives sobre l'assistència sexual: la primera es refereix a la visió de les prostitutes que es consideren assistents sexuals, i les altres dues – que hem anomenat model de "connexió eròtica" i model d'"auto-eròtica" – agrupen als projectes que presenten una proposta específica d'assistència sexual. Aquest arti cle no pretén aportar una definició conceptual de la mateixa sinó analitzar-la com a categoria etnogràfica, posant en diàleg les significacions socials que els actors implicats li atorguen. Per aquesta raó, els models definits responen a categories analítiques construïdes a partir de la recurrència d'elements natius. Els resultats obtinguts permeten situar els eixos vertebradors del debat sobre l'assistència sexual i les controvèrsies que se'n deriven. La pertinència d'aquesta reflexió es basa en què no només aporta claus sobre la concepció i la organització social de la vida afectiva-sexual de les persones amb diversitat funcional, sinó també sobre la nostra construcció cultural al voltant del cos, el desig i la sexualitat.
BACKGROUND: For years there has been a tremendous gap in our understanding of the mental health effects of deployment and the efforts by military forces at trying to minimize or mitigate these. Many military forces have recently systematized the mental support that is provided to support operational deployments. However, the rationale for doing so and the consequential allocation of resources are felt to vary considerably across North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) International Security Assistance (ISAF) partners. This review aims to compare the organization and practice of mental support by five partnering countries in the recent deployment in Afghanistan in order to identify and compare the key methods and structures for delivering mental health support, describe bottlenecks and illustrate new developments. METHOD: Information was collected through document analysis and semi-structured interviews with key military mental healthcare stakeholders. The review resulted from close collaboration between key military mental healthcare professionals within the Australian Defense Forces (ADF), Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), United Kingdom Armed Forces (UK), Netherlands Armed Forces (NLD), and the United States Army (US). Key stakeholders were interviewed about the mental health support provided during a serviceperson's military career. The main items discussed were training, prevention, early identification, intervention, and aftercare in the field of mental health. RESULTS: All forces reported that much attention was paid to mental health during the individual's military career, including deployment. In doing so there was much overlap between the rationale and applied methods. The main method of providing support was through training and education. The educative focus was to strengthen the mental resilience of individual soldiers while providing a range of mental healthcare services. All forces had abandoned standard psychological debriefing after critical incidents. Instead, by default, mental healthcare professionals acted to support the leader and peer led "after action" reviews. All countries provided professional mental support close to the front line, aimed at early detection and early return to normal activities within the unit. All countries deployed a mental health support team that consisted of a range of mental health staff including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, mental health nurses, and chaplains. There was no overall consensus in the allocation of mental health disciplines in theatre. All countries (except the US) provided troops with a third location decompression (TLD) stop after deployment, which aimed to recognize what the deployed units had been through and to prepare them for transition home. The US conducted in-garrison 'decompression', or 'reintegration training' in the US, with a similiar focus to TLD. All had a reasonably comparable infrastructure in the field of mental healthcare. Shared bottlenecks across countries included perceived stigma and barriers to care around mental health problems as well as the need for improving the awareness and recognition of mental health problems among service members. CONCLUSION: This analysis demonstrated that in all five partners state-of-the-art preventative mental healthcare was included in the last deployment in Afghanistan, including a positive approach towards strengthening the mental resilience, a focus on self-regulatory skills and self-empowerment, and several initiatives that were well-integrated in a military context. These initiatives were partly/completely implemented by the military/colleagues/supervisors and applicable during several phases of the deployment cycle. Important new developments in operational mental health support are recognition of the role of social leadership and enhancement of operational peer support. This requires awareness of mental problems that will contribute to reduction of the barriers to care in case of problems. Finally, comparing mental health support services across countries can contribute to optimal preparation for the challenges of military deployment. ; Eric Vermetten, Neil Greenberg, Manon A. Boeschoten, Roos Delahaije, Rakesh Jetly, Carl A. Castro, and Alexander C. McFarlane
BACKGROUND: Over the last few decades, esophageal cancer incidence and mortality trends varied substantially across Europe, with important differences between sexes and the two main histological subtypes, squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and adenocarcinoma (EAC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: To monitor recent esophageal cancer mortality trends and to compute short-term predictions in the European Union (EU) and selected European countries, we analyzed data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) for 1980-2011. We also analyzed incidence trends and relative weights of ESCC and EAC across Europe using data from Cancer Incidence in Five Continents. RESULTS: Long-term decreasing trends were observed for male esophageal cancer mortality in several southern and western European countries, whereas in central Europe mortality increased until the mid-1990s and started to stabilize or decline over the last years. In some eastern and northern countries, the rates were still increasing. Mortality among European women remained comparatively low and showed stable or decreasing trends in most countries. Between 2000-2004 and 2005-2009, esophageal cancer mortality declined by 7% (from 5.34 to 4.99/100 000) in EU men, and by 3% (from 1.12 to 1.09/100 000) in EU women. Predictions to 2015 show persistent declines in mortality rates for men in the EU overall, and stable rates for EU women, with rates for 2015 of 4.5/100 000 men (about 22 300 deaths) and 1.1/100 000 women (about 7400 deaths). In northern Europe, EAC is now the predominant histological type among men, while for European women ESCC is more common and corresponding rates are still increasing in several countries. CONCLUSION(S): The observed trends reflect the variations in alcohol drinking, tobacco smoking and overweight across European countries.
Background: Over the last few decades, esophageal cancer incidence and mortality trends varied substantially across Europe, with important differences between sexes and the two main histological subtypes, squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and adenocarcinoma (EAC). Patients and methods: To monitor recent esophageal cancer mortality trends and to compute short-term predictions in the European Union (EU) and selected European countries, we analyzed data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) for 1980–2011. We also analyzed incidence trends and relative weights of ESCC and EAC across Europe using data from Cancer Incidence in Five Continents. Results: Long-term decreasing trends were observed for male esophageal cancer mortality in several southern and western European countries, whereas in central Europe mortality increased until the mid-1990s and started to stabilize or decline over the last years. In some eastern and northern countries, the rates were still increasing. Mortality among European women remained comparatively low and showed stable or decreasing trends in most countries. Between 2000–2004 and 2005–2009, esophageal cancer mortality declined by 7% (from 5.34 to 4.99/100 000) in EU men, and by 3% (from 1.12 to 1.09/100 000) in EU women. Predictions to 2015 show persistent declines in mortality rates for men in the EU overall, and stable rates for EU women, with rates for 2015 of 4.5/100 000 men (about 22 300 deaths) and 1.1/100 000 women (about 7400 deaths). In northern Europe, EAC is now the predominant histological type among men, while for European women ESCC is more common and corresponding rates are still increasing in several countries. Conclusion(s): The observed trends reflect the variations in alcohol drinking, tobacco smoking and overweight across European countries.
