Measuring traumatic stressors : an investigation into police perceptions of traumatic incidents : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

Traumatic experiences are an inherent part of many aspects of police work. Due to the personal and organisational costs they incur their impact is of growing concern to the New Zealand police. Recent research has indicated that reactivity is less a function of the type of event that officers' encounter and more a function of the event characteristics which officers are exposed to. The present study aimed to contribute to the definition of work related traumatic stressors among police officers. Fifty-two members of the New Zealand police were interviewed to examine their individual constructions of traumatic incidents, in order to gain an understanding of the factors which influence psychological morbidity following exposure to trauma. Taking an exploratory approach, the present study employed the repertory grid method to elicit officers' personal perceptions and constructions of traumatic events. Principal components analysis with varimax rotation led to the extraction and interpretation of six factors underlying police officers' descriptions of event characteristics: emotions, lack of control, work-related factors, training inadequacies, victim orientated, and aspects of death. The results highlighted the wide variety of incidents and event characteristics, which can be interpreted as traumatic among police officers. Despite the focus on traumatic events, the results also reflected the participants' concern with organisational and job stressors. The limitations of the research were mainly related to the small sample size and assumptions associated with the raw data

Redetermination of parameters for semi-empirical model for spallogenic He and Ne in chondrites

A semi-empirical model described previously satisfactorily reproduced a number of shielding-dependent variations in the relative production rates of spallogenic He and Ne in chondrites. However, data for cores of the Keyes and St. Severin meteorites showed a subsurface build-up in He-3 which was not predicted with the original model parameters and the model was not pursued. Renewed interest in the preatmospheric size of meteorites, spurred in part by the desirability of understanding the exposure history of the SNC meteorites, justifies redetermination of model parameters

Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: Implications for land acquisition and population relocation

In response to the challenge of climate change, governments of developing countries are evolving adaptation and mitigation programmes for which they are seeking international financing. This paper presents the findings of a review of national action programmes and other interventions to assess their likely societal impacts with an emphasis on land-use change, future land acquisitions, population displacement and resettlement. Evidence presented suggests there is likely to be additional and large-scale resettlement related to adaptation and mitigation investments in the coming decades. It describes such climate change-related projects as infrastructure development projects and the population displacement they may generate as a form of development-created involuntary resettlement. The article considers the policy and development challenges such involuntary resettlement will pose and assesses the robustness of current governance arrangements to manage that resettlement. It is argued that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process presents opportunities for improving the national and international management of land acquisition and resettlement, particularly in least developed countries and small island states, but cautions that, at present, the financing arrangements do not prioritise the legal protection of affected populations

Tamils in Switzerland: An Emerging Post-Asylum Community?

[Please note: this article is written in English with a French abstract] En Suisse, la communauté tamoule peine à trouver son unité. Les vagues successives de migrants qui la composent, les différences de positionnement politique et de niveau social entre ses membres brouillent son homogénéité. Jusqu’à présent, l’emprise des LTTE masquait ces divisions internes en ralliant les Tamouls, de manière volontaire ou forcée, sous la bannière de l’Eelam tamoul. La fin de la guerre ouvre des possibilités inédites pour une structuration renouvelée des Tamouls de Suisse et une meilleure implication dans la vie de leur territoire d’accueil

‘Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: Implications for land acquisition and population relocation’

In response to the challenge of climate change developing country governments are evolving adaptation and mitigation programmes for which they are seeking international financing. This article presents the findings of a review of national action programmes and other interventions to assess their likely societal impacts with an emphasis on land-use change, future land acquisitions, population displacement and resettlement. Evidence presented suggests there is likely to be additional and large scale resettlement related to adaptation and mitigation investments in the coming decades. It describes such climate change related projects as infrastructure development projects and the population displacement they may generate as a form of development-created involuntary resettlement. The article considers the policy and development challenges such involuntary resettlement will pose and assesses the robustness of currentgovernance arrangements to manage that resettlement. It is argued that the UNFCCC process presents opportunities for improving the national and international management of land acquisition and resettlement particularly in LDCs and Small Island States but cautions that at present the financing arrangements do not prioritise the legal protection of affected populations

Sleep dysfunction and EEG alterations in mice overexpressing alpha-synuclein.

BackgroundSleep disruptions occur early and frequently in Parkinson's disease (PD). PD patients also show a slowing of resting state activity. Alpha-synuclein is causally linked to PD and accumulates in sleep-related brain regions. While sleep problems occur in over 75% of PD patients and severely impact the quality of life of patients and caregivers, their study is limited by a paucity of adequate animal models.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to determine whether overexpression of wildtype alpha-synuclein could lead to alterations in sleep patterns reminiscent of those observed in PD by measuring sleep/wake activity with rigorous quantitative methods in a well-characterized genetic mouse model.MethodsAt 10 months of age, mice expressing human wildtype alpha-synuclein under the Thy-1 promoter (Thy1-aSyn) and wildtype littermates underwent the subcutaneous implantation of a telemetry device (Data Sciences International) for the recording of electromyograms (EMG) and electroencephalograms (EEG) in freely moving animals. Surgeries and data collection were performed without knowledge of mouse genotype.ResultsThy1-aSyn mice showed increased non-rapid eye movement sleep during their quiescent phase, increased active wake during their active phase, and decreased rapid eye movement sleep over a 24-h period, as well as a shift in the density of their EEG power spectra toward lower frequencies with a significant decrease in gamma power during wakefulness.ConclusionsAlpha-synuclein overexpression in mice produces sleep disruptions and altered oscillatory EEG activity reminiscent of PD, and this model provides a novel platform to assess mechanisms and therapeutic strategies for sleep dysfunction in PD

Displacement and Transition Risks

The refugee journey from a place of danger to a place of safety involves a series of transitions. At each stage of the displacement cycle individuals become defined by legal-bureaucratic and descriptive labels that may include an ‘internally displaced person (IDP)’, an ‘asylum seeker’, a ‘refugee claimant’, a ‘registered refugee’, a ‘prioritised or deprioritised “resettlement case”’, a ‘rejected asylum seeker’, or a ‘returnee’