Urban Prophets: Creating Graffiti as a Means of Negotiating the Constructs of Urban Public Spaces

For this examination, graffiti and neo-graffiti have been compared to public art in order to reveal the ideological constructions of urban public spaces. How does graffiti interact with the construction of urban public spaces? How is graffiti similar to and different from public art? Which of these art forms better represents the public and city living? By comparing public art to (neo)graffiti in Toronto, Ontario and Los Angeles, California, the gendered, racialized, and class-based exclusions present in R. Florida's (2002) creative cities framework as theorized by authors such as N. Smith (1996), Sharon Zukin (1996), and G. Standing (2011) can be revealed. Urban public spaces are carefully shaped by those in control, the government and corporations, with the intention of creating spaces and citizens within those spaces that can be a functioning part of their neoliberal capitalist system. Graffiti and neo-graffiti act as a visual interruption to this system, which in turn can be thought of as physically represented by public art. In this way (neo)graffiti is created by a minority of citizens with the hopes of reclaiming their right to exist in urban public spaces despite layers of ideological exclusions.For this examination, graffiti and neo-graffiti have been compared to public art in order to reveal the ideological constructions of urban public spaces. How does graffiti interact with the construction of urban public spaces? How is graffiti similar to and different from public art? Which of these art forms better represents the public and city living? By comparing public art (neo)graffiti in Toronto, Ontario and Los Angeles California, the racialized and class-based exclusions present in R. Florida’s (2002) creative cities framework theorized by authors such as N. Smith (1996), Sharon Zukin (1996), and G. Standing (2011) can be revealed. Urban public spaces are carefully shaped by those in control (the government and corporations) with the intention of creating spaces and citizens within those spaces that can be a functioning part of their system. Graffiti and neo-graffiti act as a visual interruption to this system as represented by public art. In this way (neo)graffiti is created by a minority of citizens with the hopes of reclaiming their right to exist in urban public spaces despite the layers of exclusions

Trends in concussions at Ontario schools prior to and subsequent to the introduction of a concussion policy - an analysis of the Canadian hospitals injury reporting and prevention program from 2009 to 2016

Background: Concussion is a preventable injury that can have long-term health consequences for children and youth. In Ontario, the Policy/Program Memorandum # 158 (PPM) was introduced by the Ministry of Education of Ontario in March 2014. The PPM’s main purpose is to require each school board in the province to create and implement a concussion policy. The purpose of this paper is to examine trends in school-based concussions prior to and subsequent to the introduction of the PPM. Methods: This report examined emergency department (ED) visits in 5 Ontario hospitals that are part of the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP), and compared trends over time in diagnosed concussions, and suspected concussions identified as “other head injury” in children and youth aged 4–18. Results: From 2009 to 2016 study years, there were 21,094 suspected concussions, including 8934 diagnosed concussions in youth aged 4–18. The average number of diagnosed concussions in the 5 years before the PPM was 89 concussions/month, compared to approximately 117 concussions per month after; a 30% increase in the monthly rate of concussions presenting to the ED. The total number of concussion or head injury-related ED visits remained relatively unchanged but the proportion of diagnosed concussions rose from 31% in 2009 to 53% in 2016. The proportion of diagnosed concussions in females also increased from 38% in 2013 to 46% in 2016. The percent of all diagnosed concussions occurring at schools increased throughout the study reaching almost 50% in 2016 with most injuries taking place at the playground (24%), gymnasium (22%) or sports field (20%). Conclusions: The introduction of the PPM may have contributed to a general increase in concussion awareness and an improvement in concussion identification at the school level in children and youth aged 4–18. Keywords: Concussion, Policy, Emergency department, YouthYork University Librarie

Design and development of Taeneb City Guide - from paper maps and guidebooks to electronic guides

This paper reports the design, development and feedback from the initial trial of the Taeneb City Guide project developing tourist information software on Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) handheld computers. Based on the users' requirements for electronic tourists guides already published in the literature, the paper focuses on the three main technology features of the systems, which would give the advantage over the existing paper publication: query-able dynamic map interface, dynamic information content and community review systems and users' forum. The paper also reports the results of an initial trial of a City Guide for Glasgow conducted as part of the EMAC 03 conference

Intergenerational predisposition to operative delivery.

Journal ArticleOBJECTIVE: To determine the risk of cesarean delivery for women who themselves were born via operative delivery. METHODS: A linked data base was constructed between the birth certificates of individuals born in Utah during 1947-1957 (parental cohort) and who subsequently became a parent of offspring born in Utah between 1970-1991 (offspring cohort). Parental cohort women (cases) who had been delivered operatively (cesarean delivery, mid- or high forceps) as well as women who had a sibling delivered by an operative procedure were matched (1:2) with parental-cohort women born by spontaneous vaginal delivery (controls). Both cases and controls were selected based on having a record of at least one delivery in Utah during 1970-1991. RESULTS: Women who were delivered by cesarean were at increased risk of subsequently delivering their children by cesarean (odds ratio [OR] 1.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18-1.70; P < .001). Progressive risk was associated with parental delivery by mid- or high forceps (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.20-2.47; P = .004), parental cesarean because of cephalopelvic disproportion alone (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.16-2.88; P = .01), or parental cesarean for dysfunctional labor (OR 5.97, 95% CI 1.5-23.6; P < .001). The attributable risk for cesarean delivery to the contemporary population is 3.5%. CONCLUSION: An intergenerational predisposition to cesarean delivery exists

Risk of preterm birth across generations.

Journal ArticleOBJECTIVE: To examine the risk of preterm birth for mothers who themselves were born before term. METHODS: Data were taken from a linked data base of birth certificates composed of two cohorts: 1) a parental cohort of women born between 1947 and 1957 and 2) their offspring born between 1970 and 1992. "Preterm mothers" were women in the parental cohort who were born at less than 37 weeks' gestation. "Term mothers" were women in the parental cohort born at or after 38 weeks' gestation. Preterm mothers and term mothers were matched for birth year, county of birth, marital status, parity, and age. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for the risk of preterm delivery in preterm mothers. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the interaction of concomitant variables with the risk of premature delivery. RESULTS: The risk of preterm birth was significantly higher in preterm mothers than in term mothers (OR 1.18; 95% CI 1.02, 1.37). The risk increased as the gestational age at the mothers' birth decreased (less than 30 weeks'; OR 2.38; 95% CI 1.37, 4.16). The interaction between maternal age and parity increased the risk of preterm delivery at less than 34 weeks in some age and parity strata. CONCLUSION: An increased risk of preterm delivery exists for women who themselves were born before 37 weeks' gestation. The risk is inversely correlated with the maternal gestational age at birth and is influenced by maternal age and parity

Review essays

Kenneth Joel Shapiro, Animal models of human psychology: critique o f science, ethics, and policy, 328pp., Hogrefe & Huber Publishers, Seattle, 1998 / Georges Chapouthier and Jean-Claude Nouet, eds. The Universal Declaration of Animal Rights: Comments and Intentions, 93pp., Ligue Frangaise des Droits de VAnimal, Paris 1998 / Mark A. Michael, editor, Preserving Nature: An International Perspective, 307pp., Humanity Books, New York, 2000

Seasonal Variation in 25(OH)D at Aberdeen (57°N) and Bone Health Indicators- Could Holidays in the Sun and Cod Liver Oil Supplements Alleviate Deficiency?

Vitamin D has been linked with many health outcomes. The aim of this longitudinal study, was to assess predictors of seasonal variation of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) (including use of supplements and holidays in sunny destinations) at a northerly latitude in the UK (57°N) in relation to bone health indicators. 365 healthy postmenopausal women (mean age 62.0 y (SD 1.4)) had 25(OH)D measurements by immunoassay, serum C-telopeptide (CTX), estimates of sunlight exposure (badges of polysulphone film), information regarding holidays in sunny destinations, and diet (from food diaries, including use of supplements such as cod liver oil (CLO)) at fixed 3-monthly intervals over 15 months (subject retention 88%) with an additional 25(OH)D assessment in spring 2008. Bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine (LS) and dual hip was measured in autumn 2006 and spring 2007 (Lunar I-DXA). Deficiency prevalence (25(OH)

Effects of weight loss interventions for adults who are obese on mortality, cardiovascular disease and cancer : a systematic review and meta-analysis

We thank Associate Professor Andrew Grey for helping to resolve discrepancies in data extraction and interpretation for cardiovascular events and cancer events. We thank trialists from 16 studies for clarifying or providing additional information for this review [Andrews 2011, Aveyard 2016, Bennett 2012, de Vos 2014, Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study 2009, Goodwin 2014, Green 2015, Horie 2016, Hunt (FFIT) 2014, Katula 2013, Li (Da Qing) 2014, Logue 2005, Ma 2013, O’Neil 2016, Rejeski (CLIP) 2011, Uusitupa 1993] and also others who provided information, but their trials were later found not to fulfil our inclusion criteria. Funding: The Health Services Research Unit is funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorate.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

An HR perspective on executive coaching for organisational learning

The qualitative research study on which this article is based is an enquiry into the meaning and essences of the executive coaching-organizational learning phenomenon, as a social construct of the lived experiences and perceptions of HR professionals. The findings suggest a need to place executive coaching within an organization’s systems, with performance measures aligned to business strategies, and for stakeholders to validate and build capacity around executive coaching. The results of the research study provide guidance to human resource professionals, poised to advance a coaching culture that benefits organization performance and leadership development