IPV: Why Don’t We Screen for Those Committing Acts of Violence?

State of the evidence for screening for IPV in men or those who are committing acts of violence

Analysis of basic work-study skills in grades six, seven, and eight

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University, 1944. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Time Travel

This dissertation is the culmination of a program of study designed to both prepare me as a literary historian and develop my skills and understanding of the genre as a poet. To that end, the critical introduction focuses on the contemporary lyric sequence, while the collection of poetry is composed of several lyric sequences carefully ordered to expound the literary themes of time and memory

Managing information in eye care programmes: the health systems perspective

As eye care workers, we don’t treat eyes, we treat people. Similarly, eye care does not take place in a vacuum; it is part of the wider health care system

Artefacts of accountability: relationships, audit and ambitions in the Malawian microfinance sector

Accountability has become a prominent theme in the conversation around how international development agencies can best achieve their goals in an effective and ethical manner, and how they should seek to engage with their stakeholders. There is a growing consensus that what accountability looks like and how it is achieved varies significantly according to context, shaped by who the actors are, where they are working, and the nature of the intervention. This thesis presents an original, empirical study of accountability discourse and practice by focusing new attention on the global microfinance sector. Debates and controversies about the capacity of microfinance to reduce poverty in the ‘global south’ are pervasive, and, I assert, issues of accountability. I explore these issues through the questions I pose in this thesis of, for what are microfinance organisations accountable, to whom, and how? Through the in-depth, qualitative case study of one microfinance institution, Cloud Loan, this thesis extends our understanding of accountability and microfinance. Tracing day to day operations, interactions, and decision making from Cloud Loan’s headquarters in London to field offices in Malawi, the thesis argues that mechanisms of accountability are being co-opted to serve a performative role, in ways that legitimise rather than challenge existing practices and behaviours in the microfinance sector. As the thesis shows, microfinance organisations have come to hold themselves accountable for maximising income and keeping costs low, and often prioritise these ambitions above stated goals of social impact. Appeals to supporters and donors are predicated upon a lack of transparency: accounts are carefully constructed and selective, and key information is systematically withheld to create an appealing and expected narrative. Constructing and maintaining such artifice, as well as narratives of accountability, I argue, have come to occupy extraordinary time and resources, often diverting funds from alternative uses that are potentially more beneficial to those in whose name microfinance organisations operate. The thesis also argues that this lack of transparency cuts deeper and more widely across the Malawian microfinance sector, underpinning a culture of secrecy, conducive to inefficiency, and fraud. Such findings raise important concerns about whether microfinance interventions reflect the will and preferences of those in whose name they are being undertaken, and whether participating communities are being adequately protected. Beyond Malawi, this thesis offers an important reminder that – despite new forms of accountability - the logic and practice of global microfinance continues to demand critical attention

Examination of morphological and habitat variation within Stenanthium gramineum (Eastern Featherbells, Melanthiaceae)

Stenanthium gramineum (Ker. Gawler) Morong (Melanthiaceae) has historically been an understudied species. This species is generally considered to consist of two varieties: var. gramineum, a habitat generalist, occurring on grassy balds, rock outcrops, and in dry and mesic woodlands, and var. robustum, a habitat specialist, occurring in mountain bogs and wet meadows. A third variety, var. micranthum is not formally recognized, but was described on the basis of its small stature and unique granitic dome habitat. However, many taxonomists do not recognize any of the varieties, suggesting that they are indistinct and sympatric. The purpose of this study was to determine if the three varieties of Stenanthium gramineum should be recognized as distinct entities, and at what taxonomic rank each should be recognized. I performed morphological and ecological analyses of the three varieties of S. gramineum, including taking macro and micro morphological measurements from the field and from herbarium specimens, as well as measuring ecological characters of the field sites I visited. I then ran univariate and multivariate statistical analyses on the data collected to aid in clarifying the taxonomy of S. gramineum varieties. Results suggest that var. robustum should be elevated to species level, based on morphological separation, while var. micranthum should be recognized as a taxon discrete from the typical var. gramineum. The findings in this study emphasize the need for conservation of all varieties, as anthropogenically caused changes threaten their habitats. This is especially critical in the case of var. robustum, a mountain bog specialist of the Appalachians

The embedding theorem in Hurwitz-Brill-Noether Theory

We generalize the Embedding Theorem of Eisenbud-Harris from classical Brill-Noether theory to the setting of Hurwitz-Brill-Noether theory. More precisely, in classical Brill-Noether theory, the embedding theorem states that a general linear series of degree d and rank r on a general curve of genus g is an embedding if r is at least 3. If $f \colon C \to \mathbb{P}^1$ is a general cover of degree k, and L is a line bundle on C, recent work of the authors shows that the splitting type of $f_* L$ provides the appropriate generalization of the pair (r, d) in classical Brill--Noether theory. In the context of Hurwitz-Brill-Noether theory, the condition that r is at least 3 is no longer sufficient to guarantee that a general such linear series is an embedding. We show that the additional condition needed to guarantee that a general linear series |L| is an embedding is that the splitting type of $f_* L$ has at least three nonnegative parts. This new extra condition reflects the unique geometry of k-gonal curves, which lie on scrolls in $\mathbb{P}^r$

Quantifying Plasmodium falciparum infections clustering within households to inform household-based intervention strategies for malaria control programs: An observational study and meta-analysis from 41 malaria-endemic countries.

BACKGROUND: Reactive malaria strategies are predicated on the assumption that individuals infected with malaria are clustered within households or neighbourhoods. Despite the widespread programmatic implementation of reactive strategies, little empirical evidence exists as to whether such strategies are appropriate and, if so, how they should be most effectively implemented. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We collated 2 different datasets to assess clustering of malaria infections within households: (i) demographic health survey (DHS) data, integrating household information and patent malaria infection, recent fever, and recent treatment status in children; and (ii) data from cross-sectional and reactive detection studies containing information on the household and malaria infection status (patent and subpatent) of all-aged individuals. Both datasets were used to assess the odds of infections clustering within index households, where index households were defined based on whether they contained infections detectable through one of 3 programmatic strategies: (a) Reactive Case Detection (RACD) classifed by confirmed clinical cases, (b) Mass Screen and Treat (MSAT) classifed by febrile, symptomatic infections, and (c) Mass Test and Treat (MTAT) classifed by infections detectable using routine diagnostics. Data included 59,050 infections in 208,140 children under 7 years old (median age = 2 years, minimum = 2, maximum = 7) by microscopy/rapid diagnostic test (RDT) from 57 DHSs conducted between November 2006 and December 2018 from 23 African countries. Data representing 11,349 infections across all ages (median age = 22 years, minimum = 0.5, maximum = 100) detected by molecular tools in 132,590 individuals in 43 studies published between April 2006 and May 2019 in 20 African, American, Asian, and Middle Eastern countries were obtained from the published literature. Extensive clustering was observed-overall, there was a 20.40 greater (95% credible interval [CrI] 0.35-20.45; P < 0.001) odds of patent infections (according to the DHS data) and 5.13 greater odds (95% CI 3.85-6.84; P < 0.001) of molecularly detected infections (from the published literature) detected within households in which a programmatically detectable infection resides. The strongest degree of clustering identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/ loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) was observed using the MTAT strategy (odds ratio [OR] = 6.79, 95% CI 4.42-10.43) but was not significantly different when compared to MSAT (OR = 5.2, 95% CI 3.22-8.37; P-difference = 0.883) and RACD (OR = 4.08, 95% CI 2.55-6.53; P-difference = 0.29). Across both datasets, clustering became more prominent when transmission was low. However, limitations to our analysis include not accounting for any malaria control interventions in place, malaria seasonality, or the likely heterogeneity of transmission within study sites. Clustering may thus have been underestimated. CONCLUSIONS: In areas where malaria transmission is peri-domestic, there are programmatic options for identifying households where residual infections are likely to be found. Combining these detection strategies with presumptively treating residents of index households over a sustained time period could contribute to malaria elimination efforts