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Crucial in Pierre Hadot’s account of ancient philosophy as a way of life is the phenomenon of conversion. Well before he encountered some of the decisive influences upon his understanding of philosophy, Hadot already understood ancient philosophy and its long legacy in later thinkers of the West as much more than a formal discourse. Philosophy is an experience, or at least the exploration and articulation of a potential for experience. The energy of this potential originates in a polar tension between epistrophe (return) and metanoia (rebirth). The two poles, which are grounded in primal experiences of the living organism, motivate and model the conversion which must be lived by the philosopher. The genius of Western philosophical experience lies in the effort to synthesize return and rebirth, and thereby recover the self as an ontological point of identification with and origin of the cosmos.

Introduction: Many of the health problems faced by rural and remote Aboriginal people have been attributed to a poor living environment. In the mid 1980s we began a process of defining problems with the immediate living environment that would affect health. These related particularly to safety, washing and hygiene practice. Methods: Between January 1999 and November 2006 we undertook a standardised and detailed assessment of housing in Aboriginal communities. This involved an initial assessment of 250 items in each house and living area, focusing on performance and their impact on these healthy living practices. At the first survey-fix we implemented a limited cost repair of non-functioning health hardware and then six months later returned to the communities for a repeat assessment to examine improvement in performance. Results: Between January 1999 and November 2006 we assessed 4,343 houses in 132 communities in four States and the Northern Territory during survey-fix 1 (SF1) and have repeated that survey-fix assessment (SF2) in 3,448 houses in 112 of those communities. This survey demonstrates extraordinarily poor performance of Aboriginal houses. In the survey period, 71,869 items referred for repair by survey teams were inspected by licensed electricians or plumbers and 49,499 of these have so far been fixed. Only 10% of these house items requiring repair were due to vandalism or misuse. Conclusion: Improvements in the living environment for Aboriginal people will require a sustained commitment to the planning, funding and implementation of maintenance programs in addition to adherence to the design, construction and supervision detail outlined in the National Indigenous Housing Guide.

Background: The incidence of bicycle helmet use and the factors associated with helmet use in Ontario are presented in this study. The Ontario Health Survey (1996), a population-based survey of Ontario residents, was used as the data source. Methods: As the factors associated with helmet use were found to differ between adults and teens, a separate analysis was performed for each age grouping. A logistic regression model (with Bootstrap confidence intervals — 95%) was used and adjusted odds ratios (OR) are reported. Results: Of the 7,693 respondents, 41.1% reported wearing their helmets on a regular basis when riding a bicycle. Helmet use was greatest among 12–14 year olds (71.7%) and lowest among those 15–18 years old (33.3%). In teenagers, drinking alcohol (OR: 2.8) and smoking (OR: 4.4) were strongly associated with helmet non-use. In the adult group, female gender (OR: 1.26), higher income (OR: 1.43), higher education (OR: 1.68), nonsmoking status (OR: 2.0) and abstinence from alcohol (1.27) were associated with helmet use. Living in a rural area was also associated with helmet use in the multi-variable analysis. Conclusion: This study indicates that bicycle helmet non-use is a multifaceted problem and thus any strategy for increasing helmet-wearing rates requires multi-dimensional interventions. The results of this study are discussed within the context of other studies and related to their public health implications.