Book Review: Cycles of disadvantage?

Review of Scott Boggess, Mary Corcoran and Stephen P Jenkins. Cycles of disadvantages

The use of firearms in intimate murder-suicide in Australia and New Zealand

Although murder-suicide is relatively rare, the number of events per year is fairly constant and often occurs in the context of intimate or family relations. These intimate or familial murder-suicides are, in most cases, perpetrated by males who kill their female partners and/or children and are often preceded by incidents of domestic violence. This paper proposes that murder-suicide can be positioned at the extreme end of a continuum of violence. Using data from Australia and New Zealand for a period of twenty years from 1973¬1992, the article explores the use of firearms to show how domestic violence can culminate in tragic death

From charity to 'not-for-profit': Changes in the role and structure of voluntary social service agencies

This chapter discusses findings from a study undertaken in 2001-02 on not-for-profit social service organisations in the regional city of Hamilton, a city of 166,000 people, in the context of changes in New Zealand welfare governance from 1984 to 1999 and inTampa, Florida, a city of just over 300,000 people, following the US welfare reforms of the Clinton administration

MFL homework in Year 9 French: rising to the challenge

The objectives of this article are, first, to describe a collaborative project between teacher educators and a foreign languages (FL) department in a specialist language college and, second, to evaluate its success. The project focuses on Year 9 pupils across the ability range (in four groups) and involves staff in both institutions working together to plan and produce stimulating homework tasks in French, integrated into the spring term scheme of work. Pupils' work and progress were evaluated and their views sought as well as those of participating staff. A classroom-based action research approach was adopted for the project. The article concludes with outcomes, which include recommendations and ideas to increase the effectiveness of FL homework

Assessment of air quality in the vicinity of Delimara power station, Malta

The Air Quality Management Resource Centre (AQMRC), University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE) was appointed by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) and the Monitoring Committee, following a competitive tendering process, to assess the impact of using Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) at Delimara Power Station (DPS).The Terms of Reference for this project set out a principal project objective and several key deliverables. The principal project objective is to evaluate air and other monitoring data, to assess whether the operation of eight diesel engines on Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) at Delimara Power Station is contributing towards exceedances of the relevant air quality Limit Values established under Legal Notice 478 of 2010, as amended by Legal Notice 482 of 2011

On thermodynamic and quantum fluctuations of cosmological constant

We discuss from the condensed-matter point of view the recent idea that the Poisson fluctuations of cosmological constant about zero could be a source of the observed dark energy. We argue that the thermodynamic fluctuations of Lambda are much bigger. Since the amplitude of fluctuations is proportional to V^{-1/2}, where V is the volume of the Universe, the present constraint on the cosmological constant provides the lower limit for V, which is much bigger than the volume within the cosmological horizon.Comment: 4 pages, version submitted to JETP Letter

A critical evaluation of local air quality management and its contribution to meeting the EU annual mean nitrogen dioxide limit value

Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) was initially intended to play a supplementary role in assisting the UK government in achieving its European air quality obligations (Directive 2008/50/EC) through the implementation of action plans to reduce public exposure to local air pollution hotspots. Since the inception of LAQM in 1997, however, exceedences of health-based nitrogen dioxide objectives, primarily related to road traffic sources, have proved to be more widespread and intractable than previously anticipated. The failure of the UK government to achieve the EU annual mean limit value by the prescribed deadline of 1st January 2010 for 93% of the UK’s Zones and Agglomerations has increased the emphasis on the role of LAQM. At the same time, the lack of revocations of local Air Quality Management Areas has called into question the efficacy of local authorities Air Quality Action Plans (AQAPs). This research draws on the extensive body of evidence provided by the LAQM process since 1997 to establish if it possible to determine whether local AQAPs have been effective in achieving their aims and in improving air quality at a local level. By evaluating the degree of success achieved through individual AQAPs and then building an aggregate picture of progress to achievement of their goals, it has been possible to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the LAQM regime as a national strategy to meet national air quality objectives and to contribute to EU air quality legislative requirements.The key finding from this research is a confirmation of the thesis statement, i.e. that historically LAQM has not been a successful strategy in achieving selected EU limit values. An absence of adequate AQAP progress reporting and representatively sited robust monitoring data indicate that, collectively, the means to assess the effectiveness of LAQM in terms of reducing local concentrations of nitrogen dioxide does not currently exist.The thesis offers nine recommendations for Defra and the Devolved Administrations to improve the effectiveness of LAQM in assisting with the achievement of the NO2 annual mean EU limit value. They are proposed as solutions to the limitations and obstacles observed in undertaking this research, and in essence advocate a combined and coordinated national and local approach to reducing traffic-related nitrogen dioxide concentrations in order to achieve the EU limit value. The current revision of LAQM and the recent changes to the EU AAQD reporting requirements make this an opportune moment to instigate these proposed changes

Characteristics of children under 6 years of age treated for Early Childhood Caries at Tygerberg Oral Health Centre, South Africa

Objective: This retrospective survey highlighted the characteristics of children less than six years of age presenting with early childhood caries(ECC) who had two or more teeth extracted under intravenous sedation at the Tygerberg Oral Health Centre in Cape Town, South Africa. This survey was carried out in order to plan a community-appropriate intervention strategy. Methods: Records of 140 patients kept by the pediatric Dentistry Division met the inclusion criteria and were included in this survey. Most of the patients originate from economically disadvantaged areas. Results: Diet, feeding and oral hygiene habits were shown to be the most significant factors that contributed to the development of ECC in these patients. All the children were either breast- or bottle-fed past one year of age. 93.6% of the children went to sleep with the bottle or while on the breast and 90% of them were fed on demand during the night. On average, breastfeeding was stopped at 9 months of age compared to bottle-feeding that, on average, was stopped at a much later mean age of 23 months. Where oral hygiene practices were concerned, 52.6% of children brushed their own teeth without supervision. Frequency of brushing varied between subjects. Conclusion: The results of this study have demonstrated that there is a need for culturally appropriate education campaigns to inform parents (especially those in disadvantaged communities) about the importance of oral health and the prevention of oral disease.Web of Scienc

Knowledge, attitudes and practices (Kap) regarding early childhood caries among nurses working in a low socio-economic area

In the poorer communities, nursing professionals are usually the first health professionals to come into contact with parents and their children. They are therefore the first port of call when patients need information about health matters and are thus able to have a positive impact on oral health and the prevention of ECC. To investigate the knowledge of nursing professionals regarding oral health in children and specifically ECC and its causes. A convenience sample was used which included all nurses who agreed to participate. Questionnaires were completed for 83 nurses at the various facilities in a low socio-economic area of Cape Town, South Africa. Information was obtained regarding their attitude towards dental care, general oral health knowledge and knowledge of feeding and oral hygiene practices. In the sample of nurses surveyed, it is clear that the knowledge regarding oral health related matters is sorely lacking. More time and resources need to be invested into equipping these nurses to provide basic oral health information to the broader community in order to alleviate the burden of ECC