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Into the Australian Bush - Women, Law and Courageous Acts of Rebellion
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Whilst Indigenous Australians made their complex civilisation in the bush, the Australian bush held fascination and terror for those coming to Australia from Britain in the late 18th century. Yet women and men built shacks and families, herded cattle and sheared sheep, planted crops and gardens, making their lives in the bush. Propelled by working just as hard as the men, in jobs men did and traditional women’s jobs, women as former convicts and free settlers developed a determination so that, when confronted with laws providing that men had rights but women had none, women rebelled. Women from the bush were in the forefront of changes to laws extending property rights to married women, child custody, access to education and employment rights, access to ‘male’ trades and professions, and equal pay or ‘the rate for the job’ and equal pay for work of equal value. Women struggled, too, for the most basic right – to vote and stand for parliament - and won. South Australian women won the vote and the right to stand for parliament in 1984, Western Australian women won the vote in 1899, and in 1902 Australia became the first country in the world for women winning not only the vote but the right to be members of Parliament. This chapter relates the struggle for women to gain gardens of their own, and rights commensurate with being human.
Key Words: Australian bush, law, women’s rights, women’s activism, women’s suffrag
Advocating for an Environmental Sustainability Stance to Climate Change Governance in Nigeria
Get PDFClimate change is arguably the biggest threat to human existence. This global problem has the potential to make our home, earth, uninhabitable. Signs of this being a growing reality is evidenced by more frequent extreme weather changes, increased environmental disasters, more outbreaks of diseases and a growing general degeneration of the environment. Scientific findings have established a link between human activities such as industrialisation; extraction of natural resources; deforestation; and mechanisation, with increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This has in turn propelled the problem of climate change. The global community, understanding the magnitude of the climate change problem, has seen the need to institute governance instruments advocating for the adoption of environmentally friendly steps aimed at reducing the global level of emissions. States like the UK and Kenya, understanding the need for all countries to take national action to give humanity a fighting chance, have adopted an environmental sustainability stance to governing climate change. This has come in form of enacting laws, passing policies and taking stringent legal action, within their respective territories, which prioritise environmental protection. This approach is however not universally subscribed to by countries like Nigeria. With widespread poverty and high levels of underdevelopment, Nigeria has prioritised an economic centred stance over an approach that focuses on environmental protection. The country also has a mono-economic system wherein political, economic and general governance decisions are carried out with the mind of safeguarding the oil and gas sector. This has led to the subpar governance of climate change within Nigeria. This thesis, aligning with the view that professes the need for all States to partake in the governance of climate change, seeks to advocate an environmental sustainability approach to climate change governance for Nigeria. This will be done mindful of the factors potentially hindering Nigeria from adopting this stance, like the country’s reliance on oil and gas, which is a high emitter of greenhouse gases. Lessons will be drawn from the governance steps taken by the UK and Kenya to govern climate change nationally through the adoption of an environmental sustainability approach
Is energy expenditure reduced in obese mice with mutations in the leptin/leptin receptor genes?
Get PDFRodents with mutations in the leptin, or leptin receptor, genes have been extensively used to investigate the regulation of energy balance and the factors that underlie the development of obesity. The excess energy gain of these mutants has long been considered as being due in part to increased metabolic efficiency, consequent to reduced energy expenditure, but this view has recently been challenged. We argue, particularly though not exclusively, from data on ob/ob mice, that three lines of evidence support the proposition that reduced expenditure is important in the aetiology of obesity in leptin pathway mutants (irrespective of the genetic background): (i) milk intake is similar in suckling ob/ob and +/? mice; (ii) ob/ob mice deposit excess energy when pair-fed to the ad libitum food intake of lean siblings; (iii) in several studies mutant mice have been shown to exhibit a lower RMR ‘per animal’ at temperatures below thermoneutrality. When metabolic rate is expressed ‘per unit body weight’ (inappropriately, because of body composition differences), then it is invariably lower in the obese than the lean. It is important to differentiate the causes from the consequences of obesity. Hyperphagic, mature obese animals weighing 2–3 times their lean siblings may well have higher expenditure ‘per animal’, reflecting the costs of being larger and of enhanced obligatory diet-induced thermogenesis resulting from the increased food intake. This cannot, however, be used to inform the aetiology of their obesity
The Impact of Credit Risk Reporting Rules on Financial Analysts' Information Environment
Get PDFMajority of the prior research in the area of loan loss accounting has been based on the examination of previous loan loss accounting model – the IAS 39 Incurred loss model, or on the exploration of theoretical implications under the proposed forward-looking model by both International Accounting Standards Board and Financial Accounting Standards Board. This thesis examines the informativeness of the IFRS 9 Expected loss model in the European Union using both primary and secondary data investigations. This research is one of the first studies to investigate informativeness of credit risk reporting under the IFRS 9 Expected loss model implemented by the International Accounting Standards Board in January 2018. Therefore, the area of loan loss accounting under IFRS 9 remains significantly under researched; with majority of studies examining the model descriptively using case studies. Furthermore, the large proportion of existing research evaluate the IFRS 9 Expected loss model through the conceptual lens, by illustrating limitations of the previous model and the improvements implemented within the new model. Given the lack of substantial evidence on the usefulness of the new model for loan loss accounting using large data samples, the current study undertakes the work on this topic to provide a comprehensive clarity in the context of credit risk reporting. As a result, this study arrives at a firm conclusion about the informativeness of the IFRS 9 Expected loss model in the European Union.
For the purpose of this thesis, both primary and secondary data investigations were adopted. Firstly, the accounting data for the sample of 570 EU banks over the period from 2012 to 2016 were analysed to establish whether loan loss provisions determined in accordance with the IAS 39 Incurred loss model or IFRS 9 Expected loss model report greater ability to predict future credit losses. The secondary data analyses further investigate whether the presence of audit specialist, bank’s size and bank’s credit rating impact the predictive ability of loan loss provisions. Secondly, 107 survey questionnaires were completed by accounting and finance scholars and practitioners to ascertain their opinions about loan loss accounting in the context of the change implemented by the new forward-looking model – the IFRS 9 Expected loss model. To address these questions number of research methods were adopted.
The results of secondary data analyses document that loan loss provisions determined in accordance with the IFRS 9 Expected loss model have superior predictive ability to estimate future credit losses when compared to the predictive ability of loan loss provisions projected in accordance with the IAS 39 Incurred loss model. Further investigations provide evidence that the predictive ability of loan loss provisions is affected by a bank’s credit position; the statistical evidence identifies a positive relationship between institution’s credit ranking and its loan loss provisions’ predictive ability. However, the bank’s size and the presence of audit specialist have no significant impact over the ability of loan loss provisions to estimate future loan losses. Overall, the results suggest that the forward-looking model may exhibit greater informativeness in the context of credit risk reporting.
The results of survey questionnaires suggest that the IFRS 9 Expected loss model provides superior information in terms of accounting prudence and the ability to incorporate expected future events into current loan loss provisions. Furthermore, the most common limitations of the IAS 39 Incurred loss model highlighted by survey respondents related to its limited timeliness and insufficient ability to provide for existing credit losses. Overall, the findings confirm the superiority of IFRS 9 Expected loss model to provide relevant accounting information for credit risk assessment purposes. These findings may have useful implications for future development of accounting standards related to loan loss accounting; accounting standard setters and users of financial statements may seek comprehensive evidence on the usefulness of current standard for credit risk reporting
Testing the pagan prescription: using a randomised controlled trial to investigate pagan spell casting as a form of noncontact healing
Get PDFObjectives: This research investigates the healing practices of modern Paganism using a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT). Paganism is a burgeoning belief system in the UK within which healing is a key aspect. However, Pagan spellcasting practices have received little attention from distance healing researchers. This study aims to address this gap in the literature.
Design: This study utilised a randomised, double blind, delayed intervention design.
Settings/location: Research took place at the University of Northampton.
Subjects: 44 Participants (30 female, 14 male) were recruited using snowball sampling (mean age = 24.30; range = 18-55).
Procedure: Participants were randomly allocated to either Group A or B. Participants made written requests to the practitioner about changes they would like to see in their lives and provided a photograph and personal item to be used during the intervention. Participants attended meetings once a week during which they would take part in a guided body scan meditation before completing a quality of life measure. Healing practices were conducted for Group A between weeks one and two and for Group B between weeks two and three.
Outcome measure: Wellbeing was measured using the 26-item WHOQOL-BREF.
Results: MANOVA analysis showed a significant, positive change in general health from week one to week four (F = 4.02, p = .025, eta2 = .149). Separate ANOVAs of the four WHOQOL domains showed significant improvements across the study in the Physical and Psychological domains only, there was no significant group difference on any of the outcomes.
Conclusion: All participants showed an increase in health and wellbeing domains directly related to their spell requests. However, there are no group differences to suggest that the spell casting intervention was responsible
Through fat and thin - A journey with the adipose tissues. The Gowland Hopkins Award Lecture 2019
Get PDFThe present paper is based on the lecture that I gave on receiving the Nutrition Society’s inaugural Gowland Hopkins Award for contributions to Cellular and Molecular Nutrition. It reviews studies on the adipose tissues – brown and white – conducted by the groups that I have led since entering nutrition research in 1975. The initial focus was on exploring metabolic factors that underpin the development of obesity using animal models. This resulted in an interest in non-shivering thermogenesis with brown adipose tissue being identified as the key effector of facultative heat production. Brown fat is less thermogenically active in various obese rodents, and major changes in activity are exhibited in physiological conditions such as lactation and fasting consistent with a general role for the tissue in nutritional energetics. My interests moved to white adipose tissue following the cloning of the Ob gene. Our initial contributions in this area included demonstrating nutritional regulation of Ob gene expression and circulating leptin levels, as well as a regulatory role for the sympathetic nervous system operating through β3-adrenoceptors. My interests subsequently evolved to a wider concern with the endocrine/signalling role of adipose tissue. Inflammation is a characteristic of white fat in obesity with the release of inflammation-related adipokines, and we proposed that hypoxia underlies this inflammatory state. O2-deprivation was shown to have substantial effects on gene expression and cellular function in white adipocytes. The hypoxia studies led to the proposition that O2 should be considered as a critical – essential - macronutrient
Fast-Tracking Low-Value Financial Claimsin the Family Court : Report on a Research Project undertaken by the Centre for Child and Family Law Reform with the support of City, University of London’s HEFCE Enterprise and Knowledge Exchange Fund
Get PDFDevelopmental programming of appetite and growth in male rats increases hypothalamic serotonin (5-HT)5A receptor expression and sensitivity
Get PDFBackground: Though it is well established that neonatal nutrition plays a major role in lifelong offspring health, the mechanisms underpinning this have not been well defined. Early postnatal accelerated growth resulting from maternal nutritional status is associated with increased appetite and body weight. Likewise, slow growth correlates with decreased appetite and body weight. Food consumption and food-seeking behaviour are directly modulated by central serotonergic (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) pathways. This study examined the effect of a rat maternal postnatal low protein (PLP) diet on 5-HT receptor mediated food intake in offspring.
Methods: Microarray analyses, in situ hybridization or laser capture microdissection of the ARC followed by RT-PCR were used to identify genes up- or down-regulated in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC) of 3-month-old male PLP rats. Third ventricle cannulation was used to identify altered sensitivity to serotonin receptor agonists and antagonists with respect to food intake.
Results: Male PLP offspring consumed less food and had lower growth rates up to 3 months 41 of age compared to Control offspring from dams fed a normal diet. 97 genes were upregulated (including the 5-HT5A receptor (5-HT5AR) and 149 downregulated genes in PLP rats compared to Controls. The former obesity medication fenfluramine and the 5-HT receptor agonist 5-Carboxamidotryptamine (5-CT) significantly suppressed food intake in both groups, but the PLP offspring were more sensitive to d-fenfluramine and 5-CT compared to Controls. The effect of 5-CT was antagonized by the 5-HT5AR antagonist SB699551. 5-CT also reduced NPY-induced hyperphagia in both Control and PLP rats but was more effective in PLP offspring.
Conclusions: Postnatal low protein programming of growth in rats enhances the central effects of serotonin on appetite by increasing hypothalamic 5-HT5AR expression and sensitivity. These findings provide insight into the possible mechanisms through which a maternal low protein diet during lactation programs reduced growth and appetite in offspring
Down but Not Out? Revisiting the Terror Threat frpm Foreign Fighters
Get PDFWith the terrorist threat of jihadist returnees from the conflict in Iraq and Syria being
frequently cited by Western political leaders, a question can be asked about how far
this threat is manifesting itself when taking an empirical analysis of recent attacks in
the West. In this paper, a detailed review is undertaken of 30 apparently jihadistinspired
attacks in Western countries in the 18-month period between the beginning of
2015 and the middle of 2017. The findings broadly support analysis of earlier conflicts,
in that returnees represent a small proportion of overall attackers, but tend to be
involved in more organised and lethal operations than other non-travellers. At the same
time, low-sophistication attacks by non-travellers can be just as lethal if executed
properly. It is also the case that conflicts in the Middle East may represent a long tail of
risk for Western countries which reaches far into the future
Same-Sex Relationships and the Child Law Perspectives: Another Child Protection Concern or Simply a New Way of Creating the Modern Family?
Get PDFThis chapter examines benefits and challenges of today’s scope for atypical family formations provided by social acceptance of both same-sex relationships and human assisted reproduction (HAR), which now give same-sex parents genetically related children alongside the social connections possible through formal or informal adoption.
Documenting formal legal changes, whether statutory or through reported cases, is straightforward, unlike pinpointing the impact of acceptance of social change, identified by Maine as always the precursor of reform rather than a consequence. How then to identify such acceptance as a driver of norms, which in turn potentially generate reform? In developed societies this is invariably through the arts: literature, journalism, drama, music and other media, nowadays probably films, television and radio - favoured contemporary media appear to be largely electronic.
It often surprises that English law had no formal adoption before 1926, thus all supposed ‘adoptions’ in Victorian novels, where a parent of either sex had no genetic children, were merely social relationships, despite a limited concept of guardianship. Today’s changes are especially striking compared with the relatively recent nuclear family (based on the long established model of two opposite sex parents and their natural or adopted children) which was ‘the family’. The pace of change has also been so swift, despite initial resistance to dropping traditions, that the perception of the now multi-faceted family has itself been overtaken by newer perspectives than those begun in 2002-4 by recognition of trans persons for all purposes, same-sex relationships , HAR , same-sex marriage and now the intersex debate . Sadly these radical changes of perspective have themselves impacted on the crucial role of surrogacy in assisting male same-sex couples to have genetically related progen