205 research outputs found
A method to determine spatial access to specialized palliative care services using GIS
Background: Providing palliative care is a growing priority for health service administratorsworldwide as the populations of many nations continue to age rapidly. In many countries, palliativecare services are presently inadequate and this problem will be exacerbated in the coming years.The provision of palliative care, moreover, has been piecemeal in many jurisdictions and there islittle distinction made at present between levels of service provision. There is a pressing need todetermine which populations do not enjoy access to specialized palliative care services in particular.Methods: Catchments around existing specialized palliative care services in the Canadian provinceof British Columbia were calculated based on real road travel time. Census block face populationcounts were linked to postal codes associated with road segments in order to determine thepercentage of the total population more than one hour road travel time from specialized palliativecare.Results: Whilst 81% of the province\u27s population resides within one hour from at least onespecialized palliative care service, spatial access varies greatly by regional health authority. Based onthe definition of specialized palliative care adopted for the study, the Northern Health Authorityhas, for instance, just two such service locations, and well over half of its population do not havereasonable spatial access to such care.Conclusion: Strategic location analysis methods must be developed and used to accurately locatefuture palliative services in order to provide spatial access to the greatest number of people, andto ensure that limited health resources are allocated wisely. Improved spatial access has thepotential to reduce travel-times for patients, for palliative care workers making home visits, and fortravelling practitioners. These methods are particularly useful for health service planners – andprovide a means to rationalize their decision-making. Moreover, they are extendable to a numberof health service allocation problems
The Emergence of the ‘Social Licence to Operate’ in the Extractive Industries?
The ‘social licence to operate’ (SLO) is a construct that has potential to transform the mining sector internationally. The SLO is increasing in importance because it can reduce all risks during the energy project life-cycle that are detrimental to the success of energy projects. This paper analyses how SLO's are at first perceived by interdisciplinary energy scholars before examining the legal nature of an SLO and looking at the effectiveness of such an agreement from the perspectives of both the energy company and the local community. In essence, this research seeks to address what is the legal basis of an SLO. Further, an original case study on Columbia is presented which highlights the SLO in action and its transformative effect. The paper also engages in new debates around the relationship of SLOs to related energy concepts such as the energy justice and environmental impact statements, which are also vital to energy infrastructure developmen
Learning Progression in the Humanities: Identifying tensions in articulating progression in Humanities in Wales.
The paper explores tensions in the articulation of progression in learning across
the Humanities disciplines. Informed by our review of research in the Humanities
disciplines, international curricula on progression in these areas, and reflections
from professional activity within the newly defined Humanities ‘Area of
Learning and Experience’ (AoLE) in the new Welsh curriculum, this paper
describes how learning progression in Humanities has been conceptualised within
the new curriculum and then delineates and critically reviews four challenges that
emerged when identifying and describing progression in learning in the new
Humanities curriculum. Tensions include the relationship between disciplines;
the balance between knowledge, skills and values; the differences between
underlying models of progression in Humanities; and balancing the complexity of
learning with practical considerations for a national curriculum. Underpinned by
the Integrity Model of Change, this paper makes a contribution, through
providing new insights on broad aspects of learning progression in Humanities
and highlighting potential benefits and challenges of taking particular decisions
within each of these four tensions. Implications for curriculum planning and
future research are offered, including the fundamental role of professional
learning in curriculum development and enactment
Report of the gaming policy review
Includes bibliographical references.The gaming policy review, announced on February 23rd, 1994, was initiated to examing gaming issues in a comprehensive way. The review included consideration of: the priciples, laws and structures governing gaming in British Columbia; potential gaming expansions, including major casinos, electronic gaming, and expansions of currently permitted forms of gaming; the role of First Nations in gaming; and the distribution of gaming revenues
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