667 research outputs found
Institutional Racism and the Dynamics of Privilege in Public Health
No full textInstitutional racism, a pattern of differential access to material resources and power determined by race, advantages one sector of the population while disadvantaging another. Such racism is not only about conspicuous acts of violence but can be carried in the hold of mono-cultural perspectives. Overt state violation of principles contributes to the backdrop against which much less overt yet insidious violations occur. New Zealand health policy is one such mono-cultural domain. It is dominated by western bio-medical discourses that preclude and under-value Māori, the indigenous peoples of this land, in the conceptualisation, structure, content, and processes of health policies, despite Te Tiriti o Waitangi guarantees to protect Māori interests.
Since the 1980s, the Department of Health has committed to honouring the Treaty of Waitangi as the founding document of Māori-settler relationships and governance arrangements. Subsequent Waitangi Tribunal reports, produced by an independent Commission of Inquiry have documented the often-illegal actions of successive governments advancing the interests of Pākehā at the expense of Māori. Institutional controls have not prevented inequities between Māori and non-Māori across a plethora of social and economic indicators.
Activist scholars work to expose and transform perceived inequities. My research interest lies in how Crown Ministers and officials within the public health sector practice institutional racism and privilege and how it can be transformed. Through dialogue with Māori working within the health sector, fuelled by critical analysis and strategic advice from a research whānau (family) of Māori health leaders and a Pākehā Tiriti worker, and embracing the traditions of feminist and critical race theory I provide evidence of racism that can invoke strong emotional reactions. More disturbing is its normalisation to nigh imperceptibility within ones personal and professional life. The exposure of racism as a socially created phenomenon is a strength of the research presented here.
My action orientation is my ethical response. Honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a pathway to transforming racism. Such change is likely to be resisted by the Pākehā majority. This anticipated resistance is not a credible reason to weaken responsibility for such necessary change. Transforming institutional racism needs to be driven by senior managers, professional bodies, unions, and by communities. Policies, practices and leadership that enable institutional racism need to be systematically eliminated from the health sector. Crown officials must be supported to strengthen their professional accountabilities and to embrace ethical bicultural practice. Greater transparency could enable more effective monitoring of Crown behaviour and support transformed practice
Regional earnings inequality in Great Britain: Evidence from fixed-effects regressions
No full textEarnings inequality in Great Britain has increased substantially over the last two decades at both the national and regional levels. This paper examines the determinants of regional hourly earnings over the period 1976 to 1995 by estimating regional fixed-effects earnings equations. Using panel dataset from the New Earnings Survey, individual-specific heterogeneity is controlled for, and superior estimates of the factors affecting regional earnings are obtained. Increasing returns to skill, increasing industrial differentials, and increasing premiums for older workers are found to have contributed to increasing regional earnings inequality, and consequently rising earnings inequality at the national level
Toxicological profile for DEET ((N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide))
No full textA Toxicological Profile for DEET, Draft for Public Comment was released in September 2015. This edition supersedes any previously released draft or final profile.Chemical manager(s)/author(s): Sam Keith, Carolyn Harper, Annette Ashizawa, Robert Williams, ATSDR, Division of Toxicology and Human Health Sciences, Atlanta, GA;Fernando Llados, Christina Coley, Heather Carlson-Lynch, North Syracuse, NY.tp185.pd
Seeing Speech: A Pronunciation Toolkit for Indigenous Language Teaching and Learning
No full textPronunciation can present a serious challenge for language teachers and learners (e.g., Munro & Derwing 2015). In the context of Indigenous languages in particular, this can be compounded by a number of factors, including small numbers of speakers and teachers, a paucity of pedagogical resources and clear descriptions of sound systems, and the pressures faced by heritage learners to authentically preserve their ancestral language (Carpenter 1997; Hinton 2011; Hinton & Ahlers 1999). Latent speakers may be inhibited from speaking by perceived concerns over their pronunciation, particularly in the presence of elders (Basham & Fatham 2008), and other learners may face similar social and linguistic challenges. Despite these hurdles, pronunciation is considered by many to be an important aspect of Indigenous language learning, and one which requires creative community-oriented solutions (AUTHOR & Kell 2015; Carpenter 1997). Towards this end, we have developed a pronunciationlearning toolthat incorporates ultrasound technology, giving learners a visual aid to help them learn to articulate challenging or unfamiliar sounds, for example “back of the mouth” consonants (e.g. /k/ vs. /q/). Ultrasound is used to create videos of a model speaker’s tongue movements during speech, which are then overlaid on videos of an external profile view of the model’s head to create ultrasound-enhanced pronunciation videos for individual words or sounds (Abel et al. 2015). A key advantage of these videos is that they allow learners direct access to the articulatory shapes and movements that are involved in pronouncing challenging words or sounds; learners are able see how speech is produced rather than just hear and try to mimic it. Although ultrasound-enhanced videos were originally developed for commonly taught languages such as Japanese and French, there has been widespread interest from Indigenous communities in Western Canada to develop their own customized videos. To date, we have partnered with communities in Alberta and British Columbia to develop videos for four languages: SENĆOŦEN, Secwepemc, Halq’emeylem, and Blackfoot. Community-driven and capacity-building, these projects involved training community members in how to produce customized ultrasound-enhanced videos using our toolkit. The resulting videos will be featured in our presentation, along with demonstrations of how and why to use ultrasound in pronunciation teaching. Our goal is to show that the ultrasound-enhanced videos can help to address some of the challenges of pronunciation learning in Indigenous languages by giving learners a new way to understand pronunciation that focuses on seeing speech. References Abel, J., B. Allen, S. Burton, M. Kazama, M. Noguchi, A. Tsuda, N. Yamane, & AUTHOR. 2015. Ultrasound-Enhanced Multimodal Approaches to Pronunciation Teaching and Learning. Canadian Acoustics 43 (3), 130-131. Basham, C. and A. Fathman. 2008. The latent speaker: Attaining adult fluency in an endangered language. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11: 577-97. AUTHOR and S. Kell. Pronunciation in the context of language revitalization. Paper presented at ICLDC 4, 2015. Carpenter, V. 1997. Teaching Children to "Unlearn" the Sounds of English. In Teaching Indigenous Languages, ed. by Jon Reyhner. Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona University, pp. 31-39. Hinton, L. 2011. Language revitalization and language pedagogy: New teaching and learning strategies. Language and Education 25(4): 307-318, Hinton, L. and J. Ahlers. 1999. The issue of “authenticity” in California language restoration. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 30: 56-67. Munro, M. J. & Derwing, T. M. 2015. A prospectus for pronunciation research in the 21st century: A point of view. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 1(1): 11-42
Dialogue and Collaboration in the Creation of New Works for Clarinet
No full textThis PhD thesis explores dialogue-based, “intimate” collaboration through the creation of new works for clarinet. It borrows from Grounded Theory in order to facilitate an analysis through which emergent themes within a dialogue-based
collaboration are discovered. The aim has not been to insist on one model of collaboration, but to discover methods for improving one’s collaborative skills and to identify ways in which one benefits from a focus on dialogue in
collaboration. Furthermore, it aims to suggest that through collaboration one can make discoveries about the instrument: original contributions to clarinet technique are made within this thesis. The literature from which the research draws inspiration to further collaborative “technique” is cross-disciplinary and wide-ranging: it draws from social theory, collaborative creative writing, dance, the visual arts and of course, music. Added to this is a select discussion of collaboration throughout the repertoire of the clarinet. Finally, this consists of practice-based research. Seven new pieces for clarinet accompany the text
Molecular pharmacological characterisation of recombinant and native NR2B- and NR3B- containing NMDA receptors
No full textNMDA receptors are ionotropic, glutamate receptors which mediate fast excitatory transmissions within the central nervous system. They form tetrameric or pentameric heterologous complexes from seven NMDA receptor subunits NRl, NR2A-D and NR3A-B which each convey distinct expression patterns, functional and pharmacological properties to the receptor complex. Due to its involvement in excitatory transmission, over-excitation of the NMDA receptor, particularly the NR2B subunit, has been the focus of pharmaceutical therapeutic targeting for neurodegenerative conditions and chronic pain. This thesis discusses the potential importance and clinical effectiveness of targeting NMDA receptors and the difficulties in drag development arising from the receptor's heteromeric nature. The work herein focuses on the pharmacological characterisation of two novel NR2B-selective antagonists Compound A and Compound B， the physiological and pharmacological effects of NR3 subunit inclusion in the NMDA receptor complex, and the modifications of NMDA receptor physiology and subunit expression during chronic pain states. This research provides novel evidence to suggest that Compound A and Compound В bind with a high selectivity and affinity towards NR1/NR2B containing receptors. It provides novel evidence for a differential cytoprotective effect of the NR3 subunits showing significant cytoprotection in NR1/NR2B, but not NR1/NR2A, receptors and shows that NR3B inclusion in the receptor can differentially modulate the binding affinities ofNR2B-selective antagonists. This study also shows evidence for increased activity of spinal and supra-spinal NR2B-containmg receptors indicating NMDA receptor modulation and involvement in a chronic pain model
Aspects of the ecology of the Lepidoptera associated with heather Calluna vulgaris.
No full textAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX182730 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo
Can screening and brief intervention lead to population-level reductions in alcohol-related harm?
No full textA distinction is made between the clinical and public health justifications for screening and brief intervention (SBI) against hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption. Early claims for a public health benefit of SBI derived from research on general medical practitioners' (GPs') advice on smoking cessation, but these claims have not been realized, mainly because GPs have not incorporated SBI into their routine practice. A recent modeling exercise estimated that, if all GPs in England screened every patient at their next consultation, 96% of the general population would be screened over 10 years, with 70-79% of excessive drinkers receiving brief interventions (BI); assuming a 10% success rate, this would probably amount to a population-level effect of SBI. Thus, a public health benefit for SBI presupposes widespread screening; but recent government policy in England favors targeted versus universal screening, and in Scotland screening is based on new registrations and clinical presentation. A recent proposal for a national screening program was rejected by the UK National Health Service's National Screening Committee because 1) there was no good evidence that SBI led to reductions in mortality or morbidity, and 2) a safe, simple, precise, and validated screening test was not available. Even in countries like Sweden and Finland, where expensive national programs to disseminate SBI have been implemented, only a minority of the population has been asked about drinking during health-care visits, and a minority of excessive drinkers has been advised to cut down. Although there has been research on the relationship between treatment for alcohol problems and population-level effects, there has been no such research for SBI, nor have there been experimental investigations of its relationship with population-level measures of alcohol-related harm. These are strongly recommended. In this article, conditions that would allow a population-level effect of SBI to occur are reviewed, including their political acceptability. It is tentatively concluded that widespread dissemination of SBI, without the implementation of alcohol control measures, might have indirect influences on levels of consumption and harm but would be unlikely on its own to result in public health benefits. However, if and when alcohol control measures were introduced, SBI would still have an important role in the battle against alcohol-related harm
Judging failures in moral development: the classification of antisocial behavior
No full textThis study examines the influence of moral development and course of antisocial behavior on mental disorder judgments of social work clinicians and social work students presented with clinically realistic vignettes meeting criteria for conduct disorder according to the fourth edition, text revision, of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–IV–TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Clinical vignettes were designed to examine whether low moral development and life-course persistent antisocial behavior were interpreted as internal dysfunction, which is required by DSM–IV–TR to make a judgment of mental disorder. In a 3x3 design, vignettes were manipulated to include information about moral development and course of antisocial behavior as evidence of internal dysfunction, compared to a neutral condition. Vignette packets were mailed to experienced social workers and distributed to students in first-year MSW classes. Respondents (N= 241) answered the question “this youth has a mental disorder” for 3different vignettes. Vignettes were separated into three independent samples for logistic regression analyses, in which neutral vignettes were used as reference categories. Low moral development did not affect mental disorder judgments. The presence of life-course persistent antisocial behavior significantly increased the odds of a mental disorder judgment across three samples (OR=5.351, p<.001; OR=7.180, p<.001; OR=4.085, p<.001). The presence of adolescence-limited antisocial behavior significantly decreased the odds of a mental disorder judgment, (OR=.250, p= .006; OR=.345, p=.012; OR=.226, p=.001). Prior training in the use of DSM was significantly associated with disorder judgments (OR=3.145, p = .028). There were no interaction effects between level of moral development and the course of antisocial behavior. These findings indicate that social work clinicians and social work students may view life-course persistent antisocial behavior as evidence of internal dysfunction when making disorder judgments. Further, clinical disorder judgments may be influenced by training clinicians and students to use the DSM appropriately. Professional training in the identification of internal dysfunctions in making mental disorder judgments could improve diagnostic accuracy among social workers.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Heather F. Harcour
HIGH RESOLUTION INTEGRATED VAIL-GALLOWAY SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY OF THE LEONARDIAN BONE SPRING FORMATION, N. DELAWARE BASIN, SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO
No full textLeonardian-aged Bone Spring Formation of the Northern Delaware Basin is investigated using both 3D seismic and petrophysical data. An integrated Vail-Galloway sequence stratigraphic approach was adopted to account for the mixed siliciclastic-carbonate intervals comprising the Bone Spring Formation and their cyclic alternation according to the reciprocal sedimentation model. The optimized lateral and vertical resolution afforded by well-tied seismic data afforded the interpretation of high-resolution sequence stratigraphic frameworks, which in turn provided insights into relative sea level change throughout the Leonardian. Sediment stacking patterns and evolving vertical accommodation as controls on Bone Spring Formation deposition were confirmed, and the reciprocal sedimentation model validated. Inherited topography was further identified as a governing control over observed depositional trends, arising from both extensional deformation and carbonate architecture. Even more, sequence stratigraphic analysis suggests the existence of hitherto undocumented lowstand systems tract (LST) deposits in the upper intervals of the Bone Spring Formation that either fell beneath seismic tuning resolution or were subjected to significant erosional processes such as the passage of mass transport deposits (MTDs) or sediment gravity flows. A dynamic erosional-depositional model positing a mechanism to further explain the absent LST deposits, and which conforms to the overarching reciprocal sedimentation model, is proposed
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