Corruption, Development and the Curse of Natural Resources

In 1995, Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Warner found a negative relationship between natural resources and economic growth, and claimed that natural resources are a curse. Their work has been widely cited, with many economists now accepting the curse of natural resources as a welldocumented explanation of poor economic growth in some economies (e.g., Papyrakis and Gerlagh, 2004; Kronenberg, 2004). In this paper, we provide an alternative econometric framework for evaluating this claim, although we begin with a discussion of possible explanations for the curse and a critical assessment of the extant theory underlying the curse. Our approach is to identify natural resources that have the greatest rents and potential for exploitation through rent-seeking agents. The transmission mechanism that we specify works through the effect that rent seeking has on corruption and how that, in turn, impacts wellbeing. Our measure of wellbeing is the Human Development Index, although we find similar results for per capita GDP. While we find that resource abundance does not directly impact economic development, we do find that petroleum resources are associated with rent-seeking behavior that negatively affects wellbeing. Our regression results are robust to various model specifications and sensitivity analyses.natural resource curse, petroleum resources, unbalanced panels and GMM estimation

Enhancing the transition of commencing students into university: an institution-wide approach

The importance of the first year experience (FYE) to success at university is well documented and supported with the transition into university regarded as crucial. While there is also support for the notion that a successful FYE should have a whole-of-institution focus and models have been proposed, many institutions still face challenges in achieving institution-wide FYE program implementation. This paper discusses the origins, theoretical and empirical bases and structure of an institution-wide approach to the FYE. It uses a case study of the Transitions In Project (TIP) at the Queensland University of Technology to illustrate how institution-wide FYE program implementation can be achieved and sustained. TIP had four inter-related projects focussing on at-risk students, first year curriculum, learning resources and staff development. The key aim of TIP was to identify good practice and institutionalise it in a sustainable way. The degree of success in achieving this is evaluated

Withering the citizen, managing the consumer: complaints in healthcare settings

This paper considers concepts of citizenship and consumerism in light of complaints about healthcare, which have risen since the early1990s, due to a greater willingness by the healthcare user to complain, and also the reforms in complaint systems. The narrow legal model for dealing with complaints has been replaced by a managerial model based on corporate sector practice that views complaint handling as a way of retaining customers and organisational learning. The managerial model has proved difficult to embed into the English NHS and has been superposed with a centralised regulatory system that aims to manage performance while also being responsible for reviewing, complaints and being responsive to complainants. It is argued that this may have positive consequences in terms of improving healthcare quality but more negatively, the promotion of consumerism within complaints processes has led to a loss of the right to due process and public accountability

DNA and pacific commensal models : applications, construction, limitations, and future prospects

Components of the Pacific transported landscape have been used as proxies to trace the prehistoric movement of humans across the Pacific for almost two decades. Analyses of archaeological remains and DNA sequences of plants, animals, and microorganisms moved by or with humans have contributed to understanding prehistoric migration, trade, exchange, and sometimes revealed the geographic origins of particular plants and animals. This paper presents the basic elements of a DNA-based commensal model and discusses the phylogenetic and population genetic approaches these models employ. A clear delineation of the underlying assumptions of these models and the background information required to construct them have yet to appear in the literature. This not only provides a framework with which to construct a commensal model but also highlights gaps in current knowledge. The ways in which commensal models have enriched archaeological reconstructions will be highlighted, as will their current limitations. With these limitations in mind, options will be outlined for augmenting commensal models through the application of established techniques and new technologies in order to provide the best tools for reconstructing ancient human mobility and behavior in the Pacific and beyond

Embodied Discourses of Literacy in the Lives of Two Preservice Teachers

This study examines the emerging teacher literacy identities of Ian and A.J., two preservice teachers in a graduate teacher education program in the United States. Using a poststructural feminisms theoretical framework, the study illustrates the embodiment of literacy pedagogy discourses in relation to the literacy courses’ discourse of comprehensive literacy and the literacy biographical discourses of Ian and A.J. The results of this study indicate the need to deconstruct how the discourse of comprehensive literacy limits how we, as literacy teacher educators, position, hear and respond to our preservice teachers and suggests the need for differentiation in our teacher education literacy courses

Narratives of ethnic identity among practitioners in community settings in the northeast of England

The increasing ethnic diversity of the UK has been mirrored by growing public awareness of multicultural issues, alongside developments in academic and government thinking. This paper explores the contested meanings around ethnic identity/ies in community settings, drawing on semi-structured interviews with staff from Children’s Centres and allied agencies conducted for a research project that examined the relationship between identity and the participation of parents/carers in services in northeast England. The research found that respondents were unclear about, especially, white ethnic identities, and commonly referred to other social categorizations, such as age, nationality, and circumstances such as mobility, when discussing service users. While in some cases this may have reflected legitimate attempts to resist overethnicizing non-ethnic phenomena, such constructions coexisted with assumptions about ethnic difference and how it might translate into service needs. These findings raise important considerations for policy and practice

Parkinson's disease biomarkers: perspective from the NINDS Parkinson's Disease Biomarkers Program

Biomarkers for Parkinson's disease (PD) diagnosis, prognostication and clinical trial cohort selection are an urgent need. While many promising markers have been discovered through the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Parkinson's Disease Biomarker Program (PDBP) and other mechanisms, no single PD marker or set of markers are ready for clinical use. Here we discuss the current state of biomarker discovery for platforms relevant to PDBP. We discuss the role of the PDBP in PD biomarker identification and present guidelines to facilitate their development. These guidelines include: harmonizing procedures for biofluid acquisition and clinical assessments, replication of the most promising biomarkers, support and encouragement of publications that report negative findings, longitudinal follow-up of current cohorts including the PDBP, testing of wearable technologies to capture readouts between study visits and development of recently diagnosed (de novo) cohorts to foster identification of the earliest markers of disease onset

Deletion of parasite immune modulatory sequences combined with immune activating signals enhances vaccine mediated protection against filarial nematodes

<p>Background: Filarial nematodes are tissue-dwelling parasites that can be killed by Th2-driven immune effectors, but that have evolved to withstand immune attack and establish chronic infections by suppressing host immunity. As a consequence, the efficacy of a vaccine against filariasis may depend on its capacity to counter parasite-driven immunomodulation.</p> <p>Methodology and Principal Findings: We immunised mice with DNA plasmids expressing functionally-inactivated forms of two immunomodulatory molecules expressed by the filarial parasite Litomosoides sigmodontis: the abundant larval transcript-1 (LsALT) and cysteine protease inhibitor-2 (LsCPI). The mutant proteins enhanced antibody and cytokine responses to live parasite challenge, and led to more leukocyte recruitment to the site of infection than their native forms. The immune response was further enhanced when the antigens were targeted to dendritic cells using a single chain Fv-αDEC205 antibody and co-administered with plasmids that enhance T helper 2 immunity (IL-4) and antigen-presenting cell recruitment (Flt3L, MIP-1α). Mice immunised simultaneously against the mutated forms of LsALT and LsCPI eliminated adult parasites faster and consistently reduced peripheral microfilaraemia. A multifactorial analysis of the immune response revealed that protection was strongly correlated with the production of parasite-specific IgG1 and with the numbers of leukocytes present at the site of infection.</p> <p>Conclusions: We have developed a successful strategy for DNA vaccination against a nematode infection that specifically targets parasite-driven immunosuppression while simultaneously enhancing Th2 immune responses and parasite antigen presentation by dendritic cells.</p&gt

On their own terms: Health Perceptions of Urban Native People

Cultural differences between Native patients and non-Native health practitioners lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication in the clinical milieu. This applied anthropology study provides information which can lessen this problem. It is an investigation health perceptions, as described by a diverse group of Native people living in Hamilton, Ontario. Four major themes emerged from open-ended questions covering a wide range of health topics. The first is the meaning which informants attribute to health, and how this contrasts with the traditional view and that expressed by non-Native people. The second is the role of a identity in creating and maintaining good health. The third is people's experience with mainstreams health care practitioners and, in some cases, with traditional healers, and how differing styles of communication and guidance impinge on health promotion. The final theme involves people's feelings about freedom and control, and notes how the course of history as well as Native ethics affect their perception of "personal control". Some alternative ways to conceptualize health promotion strategies are offered. I also suggest a link between individual health, community well-being and community self-determination. The study combines elements of interpretive and critical anthropology and psychological theory with descriptive data derived from questionnaires and unstructured interviews. I conclude with suggestions as to how the health of this population could be optimized by three approaches - that offered by mainstream health care providers , by Native community organizations, and by the society itself.Master of Arts (MA