138 research outputs found
The Appropriateness of Conciliation/Mediation for Sexual Harassment Complaints in New Zealand
No full textIn this article, Claire Baylis examines the statutory models of mediation/conciliation in the Human Rights Act 1993 and the Employment Contracts Act 1991 which are used for sexual harassment complaints. She argues that the practice of mediating these complaints is inappropriate due to the incompatibility of the cha585he specific characteristics of most sexual harassment complaints. Further, an analysis of the actual dispute resolution provisions under the Acts raises other issues in the sexual harassment context. Finally, the author outlines some possible reforms to dispute resolution processes in this area
Lipase-Catalysed Enzymatic Kinetic Resolution of Aromatic Morita-Baylis-Hillman Derivatives by Hydrolysis and Transesterification
No full textAcylated Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) adducts were synthesised and subjected to enzymatic kinetic resolution (EKR) by hydrolysis employing various lipase enzymes: from P. fluorescens, P. cepacia (PCL), C. antarctica A (CAL−A), C. antarctica B (CAL−B) and Novozyme 435. In a number of instances enantiopure Morita-Baylis-Hillman acetates or butyrates and their corresponding hydrolysed MBH adducts were obtained with ee values of >90 %, at ca. 50 % conversion, corresponding to enantiomeric ratio (E) values of >200. Enantioselective transesterification reactions on MBH adducts was achieved using acyl anhydrides in THF or the greener organic solvent 2-MeTHF in the presence of CAL−A. This is the first report of successful lipase-catalysed EKR of aromatic MBH adducts by transesterification in organic medium.BT/Biocatalysi
Navigating the Ethical Landscape of Medical Genomics: An Interview with Dr. Françoise Baylis
No full textFrançoise Baylis CM, ONS, PhD, FRSC, FISC is a leading philosopher and bioethics expert, renowned for her pioneering research at the intersection of healthcare ethics, policy, and practice. She has shaped global gene editing standards through her work with the WHO and serves on the International Science Council\u27s Governing Board. As Distinguished Research Professor Emerita at Dalhousie University, Baylis is dedicated to advocating for a more ethical and inclusive approach to science and biotechnology. Her work challenges conventional bioethics, pushing for broader, deeper thinking on health, science, and public policy.
Baylis is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Nova Scotia, and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the International Science Council. She received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022. That same year she was awarded the Killam Prize for the Humanities, followed by the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize in Humanities in 2023 – Canada\u27s highest honours for humanities scholars.
She is also the author of the award-winning book Altered Inheritance: CRISPR and the Ethics of Human Genome Editing, a critical guide to the ethical issues surrounding genome editing.
In November 2024, Baylis was elected President of the RSC for a three-year term beginning in 2025.
For more information about Françoise Baylis’ work, visit her website www.francoisebaylis.c
Three essays on economic development in sub-Saharan Africa
No full textSubmission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2023-12-01The student, Patrese Anderson, accepted the attached license on 2021-09-13 at 12:06.The student, Patrese Anderson, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2021-09-13 at 12:14.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2021-09-15 at 09:41.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #17129 on 2022-04-06 at 17:16:35Made available in DSpace on 2022-04-29T21:42:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemAuthor requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemU of I OnlyThe frequency and severity of droughts, floods, and abnormal temperatures is increasing throughout sub-Saharan Africa, where agricultural crop production is primarily rainfed. An extensive body of research links climate shocks to decreases in staple crop production. As most households throughout sub-Saharan Africa are dependent on staple crops for both income and consumption, these shocks are often detrimental to household welfare.
In theory, by facilitating the movement of agricultural commodities from surplus to deficit areas, well-functioning markets should mitigate such detrimental effects and prohibit food shortfalls caused by climate shocks. However, in developing countries, due to lack of market integration, price volatility, and other market failures, this does not often happen. This dissertation contains three papers on the interactions between markets and rural households in sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, the focus is on factors that contribute to food access and availability for rural households, staple food price transmission occurring between both urban and rural markets, and mechanisms through which rural households cope with the long-term effects of climate change.
Food markets play a critical role in facilitating access to well-balanced and nutritious food options year-round. Yet, their role in mitigating household food insecurity is understudied in rural developing areas. Rural food markets are heterogeneous across different dimensions; some are small and informal with a few traders, and others are large and highly formalized by rules and governing entities. Due to heterogeneity over multiple dimensions, it is not clear which characteristics of markets matter most for supporting household food security.
In the first paper of this dissertation, I use primary data from Zambia to construct a taxonomy of rural market characteristics on four dimensions: formality, competition, access, and product sourcing. To understand the associations that different market types have with surrounding households, the results from the taxonomy are incorporated into several fixed effects specifications. The empirical analysis provides evidence that rural households support a substantial proportion of their dietary diversity through the consumption of foods purchased from local markets. Specifically, I find statistically significant and positive associations occurring between a household’s proximity to large and highly formalized markets and several household food security measures. This result holds for households located both near and far from tarmac roads, which suggests that markets play a vital role in household food security in remote areas and areas with better accessibility to district towns and urban centers.
Food security includes both physical and economic access to food. For many households, in both rural and urban areas, affordability is a pivotal factor in determining food access. In the second paper, I use machine learning and traditional econometric methods to construct predictive models of weekly maize prices across 28 markets located in both urban and rural areas of Malawi. I use the errors from the predictive models to make an inference on the degree of price transmission occurring within Malawian maize markets. In this paper the power and potential benefits for using machine learning models to predict maize prices in developing countries is demonstrated. These benefits include the ability to accommodate many covariates while still maintaining high predictive accuracy. Additionally, this paper provides evidence that, contrary to theory, both rural and urban markets play a key role in explaining price transmission occurring between markets.
The third paper of this dissertation focuses on the links between rainfall variability and migration. Using data from the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH) and its supplementary Migration and Health in Malawi (MHM) survey, a dataset of migration histories linking rainfall at the destination and origin to each migrant move was constructed. This data set is used in several linear probability models. These models provide evidence that the probability of an individual’s decision to migrate is positively affected by favorable weather conditions at both the destination and the origin
P-chirogenic organocatalysts : application to the aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman (aza-MBH) reaction of ketimines
No full textThe P-chirogenic organocatalysts were found to promote the enantioselective aza-Morita–Baylis–Hillman reaction of ketimines derived from acyclic α-keto esters. In the P-chirogenic organocatalyzed aza-MBH reactions, α,α-disubstituted α-amino acid derivatives were obtained in high yields with high enantioselectivities (up to 97% ee)
Altered inheritance: CRISPR and the ethics of human genome editing/ Françoise Baylis.
No full textIncludes bibliographical references and index.With the advent of CRISPR gene-editing technology, designer babies have become a reality. The author insists that scientists alone cannot decide the terms of this changing era in human evolution. Members of the public, with diverse interests and perspectives, must have a role in determining our future as a species. --Targeting a single gene : Huntington's Disease -- From editing a genome to altering inheritance -- Babies by design -- From "well" to "better than well" -- Ethics in the interim -- Of harms and wrongs -- Slow science -- Scientists, science policy, and politics -- Ethicists, science policy, and politics -- "All of us" for "us all" -- Epilogue : A new dawn.1 online resource (287 pages)
Global food security: Drivers, measurement, and humanitarian response
No full textThis dissertation brings together economic, environmental, and institutional perspectives to examine the drivers, measurement, and humanitarian response dimensions of global food insecurity. The first study, based in Zambia, shows that increases in the price of milk during the critical weaning period are associated with higher risks of child stunting in urban areas. The second study evaluates aid allocation in Afghanistan and finds that although funding increases following IPC Emergency alerts, which serve as the international system’s institutionalized food crisis alerts, the per capita response remains insufficient relative to population needs. The third study compares food security indicators in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Nigeria and finds that the Food Consumption Score (FCS) is more closely linked to household economic status, while the reduced Coping Strategies Index (rCSI) is more responsive to short-term stressors. These findings underscore the need for precise measurement and timely, adequate interventions to address global hunger.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-12-01The student, Chungmann Kim, accepted the attached license on 2025-12-03 at 15:31.The student, Chungmann Kim, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-12-03 at 15:32.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-12-05 at 13:56.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #23049 on 2026-02-19 at 18:46:4
Food security in India
No full text"This thesis examines the role of social safety nets in providing food security and income stability in developing economies. The first two chapters study the effectiveness of one of the world's largest safety net program - India's Public Distribution System (PDS). The first chapter examines the impact of the program on the labor market. The second analyzes the effect of the program on food security. The third chapter asks whether households fully smooth consumption in the face of fluctuations in income.
In the first chapter (co-authored with Kathy Baylis and Ben Crost), we examine the effect of the PDS program on labor supply and wages. Our empirical analysis exploits changes in the generosity of this in-kind transfer brought about by India's National Food Security Act in 2013. Using detailed data on transfer eligibility, labor supply and wages, we find that larger transfers led to lower labor supply and higher wages, and that these effects particularly benefited the poor. The wage increases from the recent expansion account for 30% of the total welfare gains for the poorest quintile. Further, the effect on labor supply and wages is particularly strong in years with bad productivity shocks. Our results suggest that social transfers can have an additional poverty-reducing effect through the wage channel, and can play an important role in preventing the vicious cycle of low wages and high labor supply that afflicts poor households in bad years.
In the second chapter (co-authored with Kathy Baylis, Ben Crost and Prabhu Pingali), we examine the effect of the PDS program on household consumption and nutrition. We find that increased PDS subsidies, that resulted from the National Food Security Act in 2013, improved nutrition and ""crowded- in"" the consumption of nutritious non-staple foods along with increasing calories. Further, the subsidy supported food consumption as opposed to flowing to other goods. PDS beneficiaries consumed 84% of the transfer value in the form of food, suggesting that the subsidy did not cause them to substantially reduce their consumption of non-subsidized food. The effect of PDS subsidies on food consumption is highest in households where women have more control over the food budget, suggesting a role of intra-household bargaining. Overall, our results suggest that in-kind staple food subsidies can lead to large improvements in nutritional outcomes of poor households.
In the third chapter, I study whether informal risk-sharing can provide full consumption insurance in village economies. I propose a new test for full risk sharing that accounts for heterogeneity in risk and time preferences, and apply this method to Indian village data. While there is substantial and significant heterogeneity in estimated risk and time preferences, full risk sharing is rejected for both cases - with and without heterogeneity. Estimated risk and time preferences are associated with wealth and household characteristics, suggesting an incomplete separation between consumption and production, a characteristic of incomplete markets."Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2021-08-01The student, Aditya Shrinivas, accepted the attached license on 2019-07-09 at 22:46.The student, Aditya Shrinivas, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2019-07-09 at 23:35.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2019-07-11 at 15:26.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #14237 on 2019-11-26 at 14:03:21Made available in DSpace on 2019-11-26T20:59:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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Parameter definition for aerosol-generating medical procedures in hospitals
No full textAbstract: The demand for high-fidelity, clinically relevant computer models for airborne disease spread during aerosol generating medical procedures (AGMPs) has drastically risen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. AGMPs are routinely performed in hospital rooms of various size, ventilation rate, equipment layout, procedure acuity, and many more clinically variable parameters that may significantly change the risk level of airborne disease spread. Several studies have demonstrated the importance of human thermal plumes (HTPs), human movement, and ventilation system design when predicting the distribution of aerosols in healthcare settings. Some of these studies also show the effectiveness of new preventative technologies. Comparing the relative influence of each parameter and preventative device between each study is difficult because each individual experiment/simulation takes place in a specific or relatively narrow range of hospital settings. By applying Design of Experiment (DOE) methodologies, the relative importance of each clinically variable parameter and new preventative technology can be systematically tested. However, to run effective DOE screening studies, ranges of each input parameter need to be quantified. The purpose of this study is to present descriptive statistics for each room type where AGMPs may occur.Résumé de la communication présentée lors du congrès international tenu conjointement par Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME) et Computational Fluid Dynamics Society of Canada (CFD Canada), à l’Université de Sherbrooke (Québec), du 28 au 31 mai 2023
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