Budget Management That Counts: Recent Approaches to Budget and Fiscal Management in New Zealand

Budget management in New Zealand altered substantially with the implementation of the Public Finance Act 1989 and the Fiscal Responsibility Act 1994. The paper sets out the evolution of fiscal and budget management over the last ten years, in response to the fiscal policy and financial management framework. It focuses on the top-down management of spending aggregates and how this has evolved into the “fiscal provisions” framework. The paper concludes with an illustration of the challenges facing the provisions framework. Work is currently underway to consider the challenges that have arisen through its operation over the last five years. This paper is a companion paper to Treasury Working Paper 01/25 New Zealand’s Fiscal Policy Framework: Experience and Evolution by John Janssen.Fiscal provisions, fixed nominal baselines

Media, racism and public health psychology

A growing literature has established that racism contributes to ill-health of migrants, minority group members and indigenous peoples. Racial discrimination has been shown to act at personal, institutional and societal levels, negatively affecting physical health as evidenced by heart disease and other stress related conditions and generally negating wellbeing, signalled by psychological and psychiatric disorders including depression. In our highly mediatized world, mass communications in diverse forms are decisive for people’s knowledge and understandings of the world and their place in it. From critical studies we know that the media consistently marginalize, denigrate and neglect particular ethnic and cultural groups. Where media do focus on such groups much of the reporting is negative and stereotyping. Achievements are ignored or minimized while representations of those groups as problems for and threats to the dominant are highlighted. In this paper we consider the particular case of media representations of the indigenous Maori of Aotearoa New Zealand. We review extant studies to argue that detailed and systematic study is necessary for the development of critical, local media scholarship. Such scholarship is necessary if the current media impact on Maori health and wellbeing is to be mitigated. While such considerations may not have been traditional concerns of health psychology we, following George Albee (2003), argue for them as affirming the need for critical public health psychology

By Any Other Name?: On Being “Regarded As” Black, and Why Title VII Should Apply Even If Lakisha and Jamal Are White

Forty years after the passage of Title VII, scholars Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan reported the results of their groundbreaking study, Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination. Their study revealed that simply having an African American-sounding name significantly decreased one\u27s opportunity to receive a job interview, regardless of occupation or industry. The results of Bertrand and Mullainathan\u27s investigation raise critical questions about the effectiveness of Title VII as a remedy for race discrimination in the hiring market today, especially as employment discrimination has evolved into different forms. As shown by the study, in many instances, employers rely on proxies for race, such as a person\u27s name, to exclude an applicant from consideration. Outside of the context of age and national origin discrimination, very few scholars have examined the problem of proxy discrimination, and none have analyzed how to address such discrimination as it relates to race in light of theories regarding the social construction of race, in particular what it means to be correctly or incorrectly perceived as belonging to a certain racial group on the hiring market. This Article borrows from the definition of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the courts\u27 analyses of disability discrimination cases under the regarded as disabled provision of the ADA, which allows a plaintiff to bring a claim against an employer who regards the plaintiff as having an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, to propose a new method for analyzing race-based proxy discrimination claims. Part I examines the ways in which race is socially constructed and analyzes several studies to demonstrate how the construction of race by cultural and social factors can have damaging effects on the job market for those perceived as belonging to certain racial groups. Part II analyzes the current framework under Title VII for evaluating individual disparate treatment cases based on race and describes how federal courts have failed to recognize the way in which race is socially constructed. Part III then borrows from a framework used in proving disability discrimination to argue for the inclusion of race discrimination claims where one is, for example, regarded as black, with all of its collective negative imaging, to redress discrimination in the workplace. Finally, this Article concludes by explaining the importance of maintaining the effectiveness of Title VII by judicially interpreting such legislation in a manner that comports with the realities of racism and race discrimination

The Obama Effect: Understanding Emerging Meanings of Obama in Anti-Discrimination Law

Labor and Employment Law Under the Obama Administration: A Time for Hope and Change? Symposium held November 12-13, 2010, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Bloomington, Indiana

By Any Other Name?: On Being Regarded as Black, and Why Title VII Should Apply Even If Lakisha and Jamal Are White

Applying theories concerning the social construction of race, this Article borrows from the definition of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the courts\u27 analyses of disability discrimination cases under the regarded as disabled provision of the ADA, which allows a plaintiff to bring a claim against an employer who regards the plaintiff as having an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. Using the regarded as provision as a model, this Article proposes a new method for recognizing discrimination claims based on the use of proxies for race-even when those proxies have been used in a way that mistakenly identifies someone as belonging to a certain race. In other words, we recognize that it is not physical race but the presumptions of disability, or rather the constructed social meanings of race, that trigger both conscious and unconscious forms of discrimination. This Article argues that to redress discrimination in the workplace, courts must recognize employment discrimination claims where one is, for example, regarded as black, with all of the socially ascribed negative stereotypes of the group. Part I of this Article examines and exposes the ways in which race is socially constructed and analyzes several studies, including that of Bertrand and Mullainathan, to demonstrate how the construction of race by cultural and social factors can have damaging effects on the job market and in general society for those perceived as belonging to certain racial groups. Part II analyzes the current framework for evaluating individual disparate treatment cases based on race, describes how federal courts have mostly failed to recognize the way in which characteristics such as race are socially constructed and carry socially significant racial meanings, and details such courts\u27 general treatment of proxy discrimination claims brought under various antidiscrimination statutes. Part III of the Article argues that current case law ignores the fact that this form of decision-making based on proxies for race is a form of racial stereotyping and is actually disparate treatment based on race. It then borrows from a framework used in proving disability discrimination under the ADA to recommend a novel approach for courts to use in evaluating cases where a proxy for race was used to discriminate against a person-that is, where a plaintiff is regarded as belonging to a certain racial group, with all of the attendant socially ascribed negative stereotypes of the group. Finally, this Article concludes by explaining the importance of maintaining the effectiveness of Title VII by judicially interpreting such legislation in a manner that comports with the realities of racism and race discrimination

O grande arco de Teach For America: A análise textual da obra de Wendy Kopp usando a teoria racial crítica

We read and analyzed 165,000 words and uncover a series of counter-stories buried within a textual corpus, authored by Teach For America (TFA) founder Wendy Kopp (Kopp, 1989, 2001; Kopp Farr, 2011), that offers insight into the forms of racism endemic to Teach For America. All three counter-stories align with a critical race theory (CRT) framework.  Specifically, we answer the following questions:  What evidence of institutional and epistemological racism is exposed by a CRT textual analysis of TFA’s founding document and later works by Wendy Kopp?  To what extent has TFA appropriated the language of culturally relevant pedagogy, while advancing an uninterrogated neoliberal ideology? And, to what extent does TFA’s contribution to a “culture of achievement” (Kopp Farr, 2011) constitute an actual “poverty of culture” (Ladson-Billings, 2006a) that enacts real harms on communities of color? Leímos y analizamos 165.000 palabras escritas por Wendy Kopp (Kopp, 1989, 2001; Kopp y Farr, 2011) la fundadora de Teach For America (TFA) y descubrimos una serie de contra-historias enterradas dentro de un corpus textual, que ofrecen información sobre formas de racismo endémicas en Teach For America. Tres contra-relatos se alinean con el marco de la teoría crítica de la raza (CRT). Específicamente, respondemos a las siguientes preguntas: ¿Qué evidencia de racismo institucional y epistemológico se exponen por un análisis textual CRT del documento fundacional de TFA y obras de Wendy Kopp? ¿Hasta qué punto TFA se ha apropiado del lenguaje de la pedagogía culturalmente relevante, mientras se avanza una ideología neoliberal sin interrogarla? Y, ¿en qué medida la contribución de TFA a una "cultura del logro" (Kopp y Farr, 2011) constituyen un "empobrecimiento cultural" (Ladson-Billings, 2006a), que permite daños reales en comunidades de color?Lemos e analisamos 165.000 palavras escritas por Wendy Kopp (Kopp, 1989, 2001; Kopp e Farr, 2011) a fundadora do Teach For America (TFA) e descobrimos uma série de contra-narrativas enterradas dentro de um corpus, que oferece informações sobre as formas de racismo endêmico em Teach For America. Três contra-narrativas se alinham com o marco conceitual da teoria racial crítica (CRT). Especificamente, respondemos às seguintes perguntas: Que evidência do racismo institucional e epistemológico é exposta por uma análise textual usando CRT do documento de fundação do TFA e obras posteriores de Wendy Kopp? Até que ponto TFA se apropriou da linguagem da pedagogia culturalmente relevante, promovendo ao mesmo tempo uma ideologia neoliberal? E, em que medida a contribuição de TFA a uma "cultura do logro" (Kopp e Farr, 2011) constitue um "empobrecimento cultural" (Ladson-Billings, 2006a), que resulta em danos reais nas comunidades de cor

Titanium Nitride and Nitrogen Ion Implanted Coated Dental Materials

Titanium nitride and/or nitrogen ion implanted coated dental materials have been investigated since the mid-1980s and considered in various applications in dentistry such as implants, abutments, orthodontic wires, endodontic files, periodontal/oral hygiene instruments, and casting alloys for fixed restorations. Multiple methodologies have been employed to create the coatings, but detailed structural analysis of the coatings is generally lacking in the dental literature. Depending on application, the purpose of the coating is to provide increased surface hardness, abrasion/wear resistance, esthetics, and corrosion resistance, lower friction, as well as greater beneficial interaction with adjacent biological and material substrates. While many studies have reported on the achievement of these properties, a consensus is not always clear. Additionally, few studies have been conducted to assess the efficacy of the coatings in a clinical setting. Overall, titanium nitride and/or nitrogen ion implanted coated dental materials potentially offer advantages over uncoated counterparts, but more investigation is needed to document the structure of the coatings and their clinical effectiveness

Estimating the burden of disease attributable to indoor air pollution from household use of solid fuels in South Africa in 2000

Objectives. To estimate the burden of respiratory ill health in South African children and adults in 2000 from exposure to indoor air pollution associated with household use of solid fuels.Design. World Health Organization comparative risk assessment (CRA) methodology was followed. The South African Census 2001 was used to derive the proportion of households using solid fuels for cooking and heating by population group. Exposure estimates were adjusted by a ventilation factor taking into account the general level of ventilation in the households. Population-attributable fractions were calculated and applied to revised burden of disease estimates for each population group. Monte Carlo simulation-modelling techniques were used for uncertainty analysis.Setting. South Africa.Subjects. Black African, coloured, white and Indian children under 5 years of age and adults aged 30 years and older.Outcome measures. Mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from acute lower respiratory infections in children under 5 years, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer in adults 30 years and older.Results. An estimated 20% of South African households were exposed to indoor smoke from solid fuels, with marked variation by population group. This exposure was estimated to have caused 2 489 deaths (95% uncertainty interval 1 672 - 3 324) or 0.5% (95% uncertainty interval 0.3 - 0.6%) of all deaths in South Africa in 2000. The loss of healthy life years comprised a slightly smaller proportion of the total: 60 934 DALYs (95% uncertainty interval 41 170 - 81 246) or 0.4% of all DALYs (95% uncertainty interval 0.3 - 0.5%) in South Africa in 2000. Almost 99% of this burden occurred in the black African population.Conclusions. The most important interventions to reduce this impact include access to cleaner household fuels, improved stoves, and better ventilation

The C/C Genotype of the C957T Polymorphism of the Dopamine D2 Receptor is Associated with Schizophrenia

The T allele of the human dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene C957T polymorphism is associated with reduced mRNA translation and stability. This results in decreased dopamine induced DRD2 upregulation and decreased in-vivo D2 dopamine binding. Conversely, the C allele of the C957T polymorphism is not associated with such changes in mRNA leading to increased DRD2 expression. PET and post-mortem binding studies show that schizophrenia is often associated with increased DRD2 availability. We report that on the basis of comparing the frequencies of the C/C and T/T genotypes of 153 patients with schizophrenia and 148 controls that schizophrenia is associated with the C/C genotype. The C957T shows a population attributable risk for schizophrenia of 24% and an attributable risk in those with schizophrenia of 42%. Increased expression of D2 receptors associated with the C allele is likely to be important in the underlying pathophysiology of at least some forms of schizophrenia. Enhanced understanding of schizophrenia afforded by this finding may lead to advances in treatment and prevention