Religion and mortality
Does the religion that a child is born into affect its chances of survival? In India it would appear that the answer is: yes, it does. India has more than a billion people, which is about a sixth of the world's population, and about 85 per cent of them are Hindu. Existing research implies that Muslim children in India face lower mortality risks than Hindu children.
This difference in mortality rates is surprising because in comparison with Hindus, Muslims on average earn less, have lower levels of education and lower social status, higher fertility and are a minority group in India. Researchers at the University of Bristol aim to investigate the reasons for the difference in childhood mortality.
Since Hinduism is structured by caste, the project will compare both high and low caste Hindus with Muslims, using existing data sets and longitudinal surveys. The research will also consider the impact of maternal health, local public goods, for example piped water, and health facilities including prenatal care. Ultimately the team aims to provide an insight into lower mortality rates of Muslim children compared to Hindus when conventional predictors of infant mortality would seem to suggest higher mortality levels.
Fair Trade
What does a Fair Trade banana for example mean to you? With more and more products available under the Fair Trade banner, from coffee to clothes, this research aims to discover why people buy Fair Trade and what purchasing Fair Trade means to them. Ideas of social justice, fairness and ethical consumption are all given as grounds to switch from mainstream brands; however there has been little research into the actual moral motives of individual Fair Trade consumers. This project carried out by a team at the University of Exeter will uncover exactly what it is that makes Fair Trade so fair in the eyes of the consumer.
The research will involve in-depth interviews with 60 Fair Trade consumers, 30 in the UK and 30 in Germany. They will be questioned about why they buy Fair Trade and how they view their own and other people's shopping habits. The researchers intend to build up a picture of the way in which consumers develop an image of their moral selves and how they view the ethics of Fair Trade in their day-to-day shopping habits.
AIDS, Africa and the Church
The global HIV crisis disproportionately affects Sub-Saharan Africa and the African Diaspora. Strong prevention programmes are the cornerstone of effective national responses to AIDS and increasingly policymakers are recognising the importance of Churches and faith communities in combating the increase of HIV and AIDS amongst this group. Churches have large congregations and their influence often includes areas that have close connection with the spread of HIV, such as morality and sexual activity and therefore have the potential to directly influence the behaviours and practices of their congregations.
The team of researchers at London Metropolitan University will investigate the role of Christian churches in Zimbabwe in providing support, care and anti-stigma initiatives to those living with HIV and AIDS. There is a tension between the message from health practitioners, and in human rights and legal discourse which stress the responsibility of people infected with HIV to inform their sexual partners and the right of an individual to privacy. The stigma associated with HIV and AIDS means that many people continue to engage in unsafe sexual practices rather than use a condom or admit that they are infected.
The study also explores how HIV-positive Christians negotiate disclosure of their HIV status. As Zimbabweans increasingly live trans-national family lives within the British African population profile, understanding care practices offered by faith leaders in relation to issues of disclosure and the risks of onward transmission in their home country will help inform the development of strategies to combat AIDS and HIV in Zimbabwe and England.