Feminism in Flux : Indigenous Rights Activism and the Evolution of Feminism in New South Wales, 1930-1960

From the 1930s in Australia, white female voices of protest regarding Indigenous affairs were prominent. While undoubtedly emerging from philanthropic concerns, this thesis argues that more can be elicited from white women’s interest in Indigenous affairs. My focus is feminist organisations in Sydney between 1930 and 1960 where Indigenous affairs were continually a part of a ‘progressive’ feminist agenda which in the period shifted to the left of the political spectrum. A feminist interest in Indigenous rights is used to illustrate the radicalisation of feminism from the conservatism of the 1930s to the antecedents of the politics of female liberation in the 1950s

Statistical coherence of primary schooling in population census microdata: IPUMS-International integrated samples compared for fifteen African countries

The IPUMS-International project, now in its fifteenth year, integrates and disseminates population microdata for twenty-two African countries (82 countries world-wide) and the number continues to increase as more National Statistical Offices cooperate with the initiative. Statistical quality is a serious concern both for the producers of the microdata as well as the researchers who use them. This paper applies the intra-cohort comparison method to pairs of integrated (harmonized) samples for fifteen African countries to assess statistical coherence using as a benchmark the proportion completing primary school by single years of birth. Samples for six countries show near perfect coherence (R2 > .9, and regression coefficients ~1.0 +/- <0.08). For a second group of five countries, coefficients are only slightly larger (R2 > 0.6 <0.9). Large deviations from 1.0 characterize samples for only four countries. On the whole, the results suggest that samples for the fifteen countries have considerable utility for socio-demographic analysis

Participatory policies and intrinsic motivation to conserve forest commons

Participatory policies for natural resource management and poverty reduction have been implemented worldwide. Inclusive participation and empowerment potentially enhances intrinsic motivation to conserve resources. However, whether participation in activities for poverty reduction enhances intrinsic motivation for resource conservation is unknown. We evaluate the impact of participation, in activities to develop sustainable livelihoods, on the intrinsic motivation of forest-dwelling community members to conserve forest commons. As a component of Brazil’s Bolsa Floresta programme, these activities involve decision making, skills training and knowledge exchange related to sustainable livelihoods. Using a framed common-pool resource game with 160 community members in Amazonas State, we measure intrinsic motivation via members’ extent of cooperation in conservation of trees. We obtain an estimate of impact by exploiting a natural experiment, whereby the treatment group was offered the choice to participate in activities to develop sustainable livelihoods. We find that participation crowds in cooperative behaviour and, hence, intrinsic motivation to conserve forest commons. This result suggests that enabling participation and empowering community members in the development of sustainable livelihoods has a positive effect on conservation behaviour. Our results have critical implications for participatory policies with dual environment–development goals in settings where policy recipients are marginalized

Developmental trajectories of ADHD symptoms in a large population-representative longitudinal study

Background: Previous research has suggested that there is substantial heterogeneity in the developmental trajectories of ADHD symptoms. Sometimes qualitative distinctions between trajectories with different ages of onset and/or patterns of remission are made; however, little is known about the predictors and broader clinical meaningfulness of these candidate ‘developmental subtypes’ of ADHD symptoms. Methods: We applied latent class growth analysis to data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS; N=11,316; ages 3,5,7,11 and 14) to evaluate whether developmental trajectories of ADHD symptoms differing in early life predictors could be identified. Our optimal model included six trajectory groups, labelled unaffected (34.9% of the sample), mildly affected (24.1%), subclinical remitting (12.8%), pre-school onset partially remitting (14.1%), developmentally increasing (7.6%), and pre-school onset persistent (6.4%). Results: Factors such as gender, conduct problems, cognitive ability, maternal education, premature birth, peer problems, and school readiness scores differentiated between specific ADHD symptom trajectories. Conclusions: Taken together, our findings provide preliminary evidence that distinguishing different trajectories of ADHD symptoms could be clinically informative

A taste of the unfamiliar: understanding the meanings attached to food by international postgraduate students in England

Using findings from semi-structured interviews with international postgraduate students in England, this paper explores the meanings attached to the food they eat in a new culture. Our study, using interviews, aimed to uncover student responses to both the food they eat whilst abroad and to the food they have left behind. Many students criticised local English food as bland, fattening, and unhealthy; nevertheless, most showed an openness to new foods, trying not only local food but also dishes prepared by their international friends, but this sat alongside a strong attachment to their home country dishes. Eating together was a popular leisure activity, and food of the origin country or region was the most popular cuisine. Eating home country food offered emotional and physical sustenance; students felt comforted by familiar taste, and that their physical health was stabilised by the consumption of healthier food than was available locally. Despite acknowledgement of the importance of food to cultural identity and overall quality of life in the anthropology and nutrition literatures, there is a dearth of research into this aspect of the international student experience; this study, therefore, marks an important beginning

Serum sodium values and their association with adverse outcomes in moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI)

Hypernatremia in neurocritically ill patients has been associated with worse neurological outcomes. There may, however, be a treatment effect from osmotherapy combating herniation and hyponatremia, which in turn may exacerbate brain edema, resulting in iatrogenic sodium repletion. In moderate-severe TBI, serum sodium (sNa) disturbances are common, but their impact on patient outcomes is unknown. In a prospective observational cohort study of 144 consecutive moderate-severe TBI patients admitted to a Level I trauma center (UMASS) over the period 11/2009–11/2011, we examined the association of mean, nadir, and peak sNa and hospital discharge neurological outcome (Glasgow Outcome Scale [GOS]). The mean age of this cohort was 51 years, 70% were men, and the median GCS and injury severity scores were 5 and 32, respectively. Using ordinal regression analysis, controlling for admission variables, length of ICU stay, severity of injury, presence of brain edema on head CT, administered hypertonic saline and mannitol, higher mean (p\u3c0.001), higher peak (p=0.01), and higher nadir (p\u3c0.001) sNa values were significantly associated with worse outcome. Our findings suggest that higher sNa values are associated with worse neurological outcome, independent of treatment effect by osmotherapy

A socially inspired energy feedback technology: challenges in a developing scenario

Raising awareness of the environmental impact of energy generation and consumption has been a recent concern of contemporary society worldwide. Underlying the awareness of energy consumption is an intricate network of perception and social interaction that can be mediated by technology. In this paper we argue that issues regarding energy, environment and technology are very much situated and involve tensions of sociocultural nature. This exploratory investigation addresses the subject by introducing the design of a Socially-inspired Energy Eco-Feedback Technology (SEET), which is composed of an interactive system to trigger and mediate collective savings and a tangible device as a public feedback. Results of an evaluation situated in the context of a school in a socially disadvantaged area in Brazil are discussed, shedding light on the sociocultural aspects related to the subject. The role of the SEET to motivate energy awareness collectively among the social group is assessed, as well as the design characteristics that contributed to that. Outcomes bring to light social aspects and dynamics that would hardly have been predicted, evidencing critical factors related to a socially inspired design approach in the energy awareness domain

The Role of Blue Carbon in Climate Change Mitigation and Carbon Stock Conservation

The potential for Blue Carbon ecosystems to combat climate change and provide co-benefits was discussed in the recent and influential Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. In terms of Blue Carbon, the report mainly focused on coastal wetlands and did not address the socio-economic considerations of using natural ocean systems to reduce the risks of climate disruption. In this paper, we discuss Blue Carbon resources in coastal, open-ocean and deep-sea ecosystems and highlight the benefits of measures such as restoration and creation as well as conservation and protection in helping to unleash their potential for mitigating climate change risks. We also highlight the challenges—such as valuation and governance—to marshaling their mitigation role and discuss the need for policy action for natural capital market development, and for global coordination. Efforts to identify and resolve these challenges could both maintain and harness the potential for these natural ocean systems to store carbon and help fight climate change. Conserving, protecting, and restoring Blue Carbon ecosystems should become an integral part of mitigation and carbon stock conservation plans at the local, national and global levels.</jats:p

Freshwater monitoring by nanopore sequencing.

While traditional microbiological freshwater tests focus on the detection of specific bacterial indicator species, including pathogens, direct tracing of all aquatic DNA through metagenomics poses a profound alternative. Yet, in situ metagenomic water surveys face substantial challenges in cost and logistics. Here, we present a simple, fast, cost-effective and remotely accessible freshwater diagnostics workflow centred around the portable nanopore sequencing technology. Using defined compositions and spatiotemporal microbiota from surface water of an example river in Cambridge (UK), we provide optimised experimental and bioinformatics guidelines, including a benchmark with twelve taxonomic classification tools for nanopore sequences. We find that nanopore metagenomics can depict the hydrological core microbiome and fine temporal gradients in line with complementary physicochemical measurements. In a public health context, these data feature relevant sewage signals and pathogen maps at species level resolution. We anticipate that this framework will gather momentum for new environmental monitoring initiatives using portable devices