Imperiling Our Children: An Interview With Fred Stenson About Who By Fire

This interview with Alberta novelist Fred Stenson focuses on his most recent novel, Who By Fire. The discussion examines the role of environmentalists and the legal system in responding to the oil and gas industry in Alberta, as well as other issues connected to Stenson\u27s work

The Lease by Mathew Henderson

Review of The Lease by Mathew Henderson

Petrography, The Tar Sands Paradise, and the Medium of Modernity

This article engages with the artistic practice of petrography, the art of creating photographic images through the action of sunlight upon bitumen, the heavy-oil material that is the source of the petroleum in the Athabasca tar sands. It presents several examples of petrographs that document the process of industrial bitumen mining itself. Further, it theorizes the ways in which both the process of producing petrographs and the act of engaging with them as a viewer require a degree of collaboration normally absent from our consumption of petroleum as the medium of modernity. A key argument of the paper is the reconfiguration of bitumen as a medicine in Cree/Métis contexts, which leads to an alternative Indigenous idea of the petro-medium as an active, relational substance with its own potential agency

Deconstructing Development

Whether it is being praised or excoriated, defended or condemned, the concept of development shapes and dominates our thinking about the Third World. Indeed development has evolved into an essentially incontestable paradigm with such a hold on our collective imaginations, that it is almost impossible to think around or beyond it. This article, however, interrogates development to its very core, demonstrating that although it is presented as something that is universal, natural and inevitable, in truth it is part of the Western political and cultural imagination. Moreover, the interlocking ideological assumptions that support this paradigm are inherently hierarchical and by definition privilege certain societies, cultures and institutions while disparaging others. This critique traces how development began, how it has evolved and expanded in theory and practice over the last fifty years, and the evolution and influence of the institutions that determine its content. It also considers the implicit ideology that underpins development, as well as how and why it has come to feel almost inevitable and natural despite its short and disappointing history. While no new meta-narrative is posed, we nonetheless turn to imagining a world that does not demand that people 'develop' into something other than what they are.

Government Intervention in the Inflation Process: The Econometrics of "Self-Inflicted Wounds"

This paper presents a single reduced-form inflation equation that can explain both the variance and acceleration of inflation during the 1970s.Inflation is explained by four sets of factors. Aggregate demand enters through the lagged output ratio and the growth rate of nominal GNP. The adjustment of inflation to changes in aggregate demand is limited by the role of inertia in the inflation process, expressed as the dependence of the rate of change of prices on its own past values. Two types of supply-side elements enter. Government intervention directly altered the price level during the Nixon control era, and in addition the government has aggravated the inflation problem by what have been called "self-inflicted wounds," including increases in the effective social security tax rate and effective minimum wage. Also there have been external supply shocks that are outside of the immediate control of the government, including changes in the relative prices of food and energy, changes in the growth rate of productivity, and changes in the foreign exchange value of the dollar. Considerable attention is given to alternative methods of estimating the impact of direct episodes of government intervention In the price-setting process, particularly during the Nixon controls. We find that such episodes have been futile. Because of their futility, these intervention episodes can be regarded as "self-inflicted wounds," like the payroll tax and minimum wage changes that normally are described by this term.

The Variance and Acceleration of Inflation in the 1970s: Alternative Explanatory Models and Methods

The paper attributes the behavior of U.S. inflation to four sets of factors: aggregate demand shifts; government intervention in the form of the Nixon price controls and changes in the social security tax rate and the effective minimum wage; external supply shocks that include the impact of the changing relative prices of food and energy, the depreciation of the dollar, and the aggregate productivity slowdown: and inertia that makes the inflation rate depend partly on its own lagged values. Considerable attention is given to alternative methods of measuring the impact of government intervention, including the Nixon controls, Kennedy- Johnson guideposts, and the Carter pay standards. The results imply that direct intervention has been futile, since the guidelines and pay standards had no effect at all on inflation, while the Nixon-era controls had only a temporary impact that stabilized both the inflation rate and the level of real output. Some previous studies have had a problem in explaining why inflation was so rapid in 1974 and have been forced to conclude that the termination of the Nixon controls raised prices more than the imposition of controls had lowered them. We find that much of the explanation of rapid inflation in 1974 is the same as that in 1979-80: the shortfall of productivity growth below its ever-slowing trend rate of growth raised business costs and forced-extra price increases, and the depreciation of the dollar in 1971-73 and 1978 boosted the prices of exports and import substitutes, Rapid demand growth, the 1979-80 oil shock, the depreciation of the dollar, the productivity slow- down, and payroll tax increases all help to explain why the inflation rate accelerated between 1976 and 1980 by much more than was generally expected two or three years ago.

Using formal game design methods to embed learning outcomes into game mechanics and avoid emergent behaviour

This paper offers an approach to designing game based learning experiences inspired by the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics (MDA) model (Hunicke et al, 2004) and the elemental tetrad (Schell, 2008) model for game design. A case for game based learning as an active and social learning experience is presented including arguments from both teachers and game designers concerning the value of games as learning tools. The MDA model is introduced with a classic game- based example and a non-game based observation of human behaviour demonstrating a negative effect of extrinsic motivators (Pink, 2011) and the need to closely align or embed learning outcomes into game mechanics in order to deliver an effective learning experience. The MDA model will then be applied to create a game based learning experience with the goal of teaching some of the aspects of using source code control to groups of Computer Science students. First, clear aims in terms of learning outcomes for the game are set out. Following the learning outcomes the iterative design process is explained with careful consideration and reflection on the impact of specific design decisions on the potential learning experience, and the reasons those decisions have been made and where there may be conflict between mechanics contributing to learning and mechanics for reasons of gameplay. The paper will conclude with an evaluation of results from a trial of computer science students and staff, and the perceived effectiveness of the game at delivering specific learning outcomes, and the approach for game design will be assessed

A protocol for a randomised controlled trial of prefabricated versus customised foot orthoses for people with rheumatoid arthritis: the FOCOS RA trial [Foot Orthoses – Customised v Off-the-Shelf in Rheumatoid Arthritis]

Abstract Background Foot pain is common in rheumatoid arthritis and appears to persist despite modern day medical management. Several clinical practice guidelines currently recommend the use of foot orthoses for the treatment of foot pain in people with rheumatoid arthritis. However, an evidence gap currently exists concerning the comparative clinical- and cost-effectiveness of prefabricated and customised foot orthoses in people with early rheumatoid arthritis. Early intervention with orthotics may offer the best opportunity for positive therapeutic outcomes. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the comparative clinical- and cost-effectiveness of prefabricated versus customised orthoses for reducing foot pain over 12 months. Methods/design This is a multi-centre two-arm parallel randomised controlled trial comparing prefabricated versus customised orthoses in participants with early rheumatoid arthritis (< 2 years disease duration). A total of 160 (a minimum of 80 randomised to each arm) eligible participants will be recruited from United Kingdom National Health Service Rheumatology Outpatient Clinics. The primary outcome will be foot pain measured via the Foot Function Index pain subscale at 12 months. Secondary outcomes will include foot related impairments and disability via the Foot Impact Scale for rheumatoid arthritis, global functional status via the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire, foot disease activity via the Rheumatoid Arthritis Foot Disease Activity Index, and health-related quality of life at baseline, 6 and 12 months. Process outcomes will include recruitment/retention rates, data completion rates, intervention adherence rates, and participant intervention and trial participation satisfaction. Cost-utility and cost-effectiveness analyses will be undertaken. Discussion Outcome measures collected at baseline, 6 and 12 months will be used to evaluate the comparative clinical- and cost- effectiveness of customised versus prefabricated orthoses for this treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis foot conditions. This trial will help to guide orthotic prescription recommendations for the management of foot pain for people with early rheumatoid arthritis in future. Trial registration ISRCTN13654421. Registered 09 February 2016