Homeland Calling: Myths as Mobilizers of Conflict in the Zapatista Rebellion and the Kosovo War

How do conflict myths mobilize actors in insurgencies? This thesis aims to answer this question by exploring how insurgent leaders engage in revolutionary mythmaking in its messaging to combatants, members of the nation, and the international community, in order to incite and sustain their rebellions. I compare the Zapatista Army of National Liberation of the 1994 Zapatista rebellion and the Kosovo Liberation Army of the 1998 Kosovo war in order to examine the kinds of myths propagated in each case. This study argues that revolutionary mythmaking is not a mere feature of some insurgencies but a necessary condition for an insurgency to occur. The forces compelling fighters to take up arms, nationals to support the cause, and the international community to take interest are myths of folklore, homeland, and heroes. Unlike previous single-case studies, this thesis offers a comparative perspective that reveals commonalities in the kinds of myths propagated in insurgencies

Supporting Policy In health with Research: an Intervention Trial (SPIRIT)-protocol for a stepped wedge trial

Introduction: Governments in different countries have committed to better use of evidence from research in policy. Although many programmes are directed at assisting agencies to better use research, there have been few tests of the effectiveness of such programmes. This paper describes the protocol for SPIRIT (Supporting Policy In health with Research: an Intervention Trial), a trial designed to test the effectiveness of a multifaceted programme to build organisational capacity for the use of research evidence in policy and programme development. The primary aim is to determine whether SPIRIT results in an increase in the extent to which research and research expertise is sought, appraised, generated and used in the development of specific policy products produced by health policy agencies. Methods and analysis: A stepped wedge cluster randomised trial involving six health policy agencies located in Sydney, Australia. Policy agencies are the unit of randomisation and intervention. Agencies were randomly allocated to one of three start dates (steps) to receive the 1-year intervention programme, underpinned by an action framework. The SPIRIT intervention is tailored to suit the interests and needs of each agency and includes audit, feedback and goal setting; a leadership programme; staff training; the opportunity to test systems to assist in the use of research in policies; and exchange with researchers. Outcome measures will be collected at each agency every 6 months for 30 months (starting at the beginning of step 1). Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval was granted by the University of Western Sydney Human Research and Ethics Committee HREC Approval H8855. The findings of this study will be disseminated broadly through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences and used to inform future strategies

From Observers to Participants: Joining the Scientific Community

In this essay, we have integrated the voices of our mentors and students to explore 45 years of undergraduate research experiences and their role in shaping our scientific community. In considering our collective experiences, we see undergraduate involvement in research as a rich source of community development, one that has both touched our lives and influenced our teaching

Engineered Enjoyment : Technology, Capitalism, and the Female Body in Film.

This dissertation explores the link between technology, capitalism, and the female body in 20th century cinema. It argues that commodified pleasure, or engineered enjoyment, is always produced by establishing technological control over the female body. The scope of this dissertation is limited to films produced during the post-World War II era. In Chapter One I define engineered enjoyment and show how film is the prototypical example of such. In Chapter Two I examine how the cinematic apparatus works as a pleasure-producing system and explore what happens when that system breaks down, as in the 1947 film Lady in the Lake. In Chapter Three I critique post-war psychological thrillers which incorporate the idea of the breakdown within their narratives, specifically in the figure of the mentally ill woman as system out of control . In Chapter Four I address a successful example of the engineering of the female body: the star body of M-G-M actress Esther Williams. Williams\u27s film career was a product of the carefully orchestrated moderation of her physical body. Such controlled moderation allowed her to make the transition from screen star to celebrity spokesperson with amazing success. In Chapter Five I conclude by suggesting new areas for investigating engineered enjoyment in late 20th century culture, particularly in the post-1975 Blockbuster era

Design of a Digital Game-Based Learning Environment for Solving Quadratic Equations Using Completing-the-Square-Method

Various preconceptions about the effectiveness of applying digital-games approach in tandem with traditional teaching methods subsist in spite of learners increasing usage of digital devices and digital games. This trend obviously underplays the existing technological advancements made in respect to digital devices and computer game programming. This research paper applied the digital game approach to the teaching of mathematics with a view to boosting learner’s interest while mitigating boredom, difficulty and apprehension towards solving problems. It employed story-telling technique and role-play (both fun elements) to mathematics learning while still preserving the traditional stepwise approach to problem-solving in mathematics. A digital game-based environment was developed based on the battleship game. This environment was used to learn how to solve the quadratic equation using completing the square method. Performance evaluation was carried out to determine if the system aligns with the underlined objectives. The findings showed that using the digital game-based learning system helps in reducing learners’ apprehension in solving the quadratic problem and improved their cognitive skills in solving quadratic equations

The Role of Systematic Reviews in Pharmacovigilance Planning and Clinical Trials Authorisation Application: Example from the SLEEPS Trial

BACKGROUND: Adequate sedation is crucial to the management of children requiring assisted ventilation on Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU). The evidence-base of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in this area is small and a trial was planned to compare midazolam and clonidine, two sedatives widely used within PICUs neither of which being licensed for that use. The application to obtain a Clinical Trials Authorisation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) required a dossier summarising the safety profiles of each drug and the pharmacovigilance plan for the trial needed to be determined by this information. A systematic review was undertaken to identify reports relating to the safety of each drug. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) were obtained for each sedative. The MHRA were requested to provide reports relating to the use of each drug as a sedative in children under the age of 16. Medline was searched to identify RCTs, controlled clinical trials, observational studies, case reports and series. 288 abstracts were identified for midazolam and 16 for clonidine with full texts obtained for 80 and 6 articles respectively. Thirty-three studies provided data for midazolam and two for clonidine. The majority of data has come from observational studies and case reports. The MHRA provided details of 10 and 3 reports of suspected adverse drug reactions. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: No adverse reactions were identified in addition to those specified within the SmPC for the licensed use of the drugs. Based on this information and the wide spread use of both sedatives in routine practice the pharmacovigilance plan was restricted to adverse reactions. The Clinical Trials Authorisation was granted based on the data presented in the SmPC and the pharmacovigilance plan within the clinical trial protocol restricting collection and reporting to adverse reactions

Toward a Defined Role for Occupational Therapy in Foster Care Transition Programming

Youth who age out of the foster care system and transition to adulthood face challenges that are exacerbated by a history of trauma, severed relationships, and instability of living and educational placements. A review of the literature demonstrates poor outcomes overall for this population. Occupational therapists are positioned to meet the needs that arise during this time; however, a review of emerging roles for occupational therapists is necessary to describe how occupational therapists can best fulfill gaps in current programming. Through a review of the literature and a preliminary mixed-methods study, this paper establishes a direction for the inclusion of occupational therapy for youth aging out of foster care using the Person Environment Occupation Performance (PEOP) model as a structure. Federal, state, and local organizations provide resources to assist transitioning foster youth. However, there is a lack of collaborative, individualized, and evidence-based approaches reporting good outcomes. Specific occupational therapy interventions are suggested to delineate our role with this high-risk population during transition to independent living: both novel interventions and additions to current evidence-based programming