The involvement of vulnerable children in child friendly spaces in Aceh, Indonesia : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The negative impact of natural and man-made disasters on children is well recognized and over the years different interventions have been introduced in communities so as to address the needs of affected children during humanitarian responses. In recent years though, the rights of children in humanitarian emergencies have been addressed more intentionally than previously. This has resulted in a new type of intervention that has evolved to address the psychosocial and protection needs of children through a range of creative, informative and supportive play activities and referral services offered in disaster affected communities. The activities have been supported by a range of Non Governmental Organisations and the United Nations. Commonly called 'Child Friendly Spaces'(CFSs), these programmes are now offered in most humanitarian emergencies. Drawing on literature from a range of social sciences and an analysis of qualitative research conducted in Tsunami affected Aceh, Indonesia, this study demonstrates that Government, United Nations and NGO stakeholders' understanding and approach to CFS programmes differs in terms of definitions of key concepts. The study also identifies the challenges in defining vulnerability at a community level and discusses whether CFS programmes do offer services to the most vulnerable children

Past nature : public accounts of Nova Scotia's landscape, 1600-1900

i, 197 leaves : map ; 28 cm.Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 185-197).This thesis examines the ecological changes in the land that took place with the European colonization of Nova Scotia over a three hundred year period (1600-1900). Public accounts of Nova Scotia's landscape are studied to determine what kind of environment these newcomers first encountered and how the natural history features of the land changed with settlement. The diverse cultural responses to landscape are examined and categorised into distinct patterns of responses to nature. Narratives are also used to determine natural history patterns and the transformations that came with agriculture, lumbering, the fisheries and fur trade. Central to this story are the tensions between two different cultures colliding -- Micmac and European -- and the ties to the land that both united and divided them. Ecological consequences of both ways of living in nature -- the hunter and the cultivator -- are examined. This thesis makes a contribution to our collective understanding of the central role of nature in Nova Scotia's past cultural history. Three centuries of discourse over the land reveal an intense interest in this subject and serve to expand our vision of the natural world and the role of humans in it

ASPIRES3 Summary Report: Computing

In this report, we share evidence from the ASPIRES research project, a fourteen-year, mixed methods investigation of the factors shaping young people’s trajectories in, through and out of STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), with a particular focus on access to STEM degrees. The study collected survey data from over 47,000 young people and conducted over 760 qualitative interviews with a longitudinal sample, which tracked 50 young people (and their parents/ carers) between the ages of 10 and 22. The project also conducted secondary analyses of UK National Statistics and Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data sets on England domiciled students, aged 18 to 24. This report focuses on analyses of survey data collected at age 21/22 and longitudinal interviews conducted from age 10 to 22, to shed light on the factors shaping STEM trajectories, particularly at degree level

Halifax Public Gardens : archaeological resource impact assessment

In January 2006, Davis Archaeological Consultants (DAC) Limited conducted an archaeological resource impact assessment in the Halifax Public Gardens, under contract to Halifax Regional Municipality. The assessment was limited to archaeological monitoring of mechanical excavation adjacent to the male washroom near South Park Street and a reconnaissance of the area immediately west of the female's washroom near Spring Garden Road as well as an area southeast of Horticultural Hall near the Spring Garden Road entrance gate. In July 2006, the construction was expanded to include the installation of catch basins on the west side of Horticultural Hall. The second phase of construction was conducted by Permacrete and was monitored by DAC's senior technicians from 10 July to 19 July 2006 and by DAC's president on 20 July and 26 July 2006. The assessment was conducted under an extension of Heritage Research Permit A2006NS10, issued by the Nova Scotia Museum in January 2006. No significant archaeological resources were encountered during monitoring activities, although several artifacts were collected from disturbed contexts. Consequently, construction was allowed to proceed as scheduled

Bengal Lancers new riding paddock : archaeological resource impact assessment

Davis Archaeological Consultants Limited was contracted by CBCL Limited Consulting Engineers to conduct an archaeological resource impact assessment of the Bengal Lancers New Riding Paddock in Halifax in May 2006. The purpose of the assessment was to monitor the mechanical excavation of those areas believed to be of archaeological potential. A previous assessment by Powell (2003) indicated that the southwest end of this area was the site of a late nineteenth century city dump which may have extended throughout the current development zone. During the current archaeological assessment, a deposit of late nineteenth century refuse was encountered throughout the development area but appeared to be heavily disturbed. The primary deposit was located through an archaeological test pit to the north of the temporary riding paddock but proved to be located below the level of excavation warranted for this development and, therefore, was not disturbed with the exception of this test pit. A sample of artifacts was collected from the secondary deposit and catalogued in the Nova Scotia Museum's Museum Information Management System (MIMSLite) (Appendix C). A late nineteenth or early twentieth century concrete foundation was also encountered on the west side of the stables which extends beneath the temporary riding paddock through to the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History parking lot. Due to the recent origin of this structure, it is not believed to be of elevated archaeological significance

The impact of opiate substitution treatment on mortality risk in drug addicts: a natural experiment study

Background Opiate substitution treatment (OST) is the main treatment for people addicted to heroin and other opioid drugs. However, there is limited information on how the delivery of this treatment affects mortality risk.Objectives To investigate the associations of mortality risk with periods during treatment and following cessation of treatment, medication type, co-prescription of other medication and dosing regimens during titration and detoxification. The trends with time of prescribed medication, dose and treatment duration were also explored.Design Prospective longitudinal observational study.Setting UK primary care between 1998 and 2014.Participants A total of 12,780 patients receiving methadone, buprenorphine or dihydrocodeine.Main outcome measures All-cause mortality relating to 657 deaths and drug-related poisoning relating to 113 deaths.Data sources Clinical Practice Research Datalink with linked information on cause of death from the Office for National Statistics.Results For both outcomes, the lowest mortality risk was observed after 4 weeks of treatment and the highest risk was observed in the first 4 weeks following cessation of treatment [e.g. for drug-related poisoning, incidence rate ratio (IRR) 8.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.45 to 12.19]. There was evidence that the treatment period risks varied with OST medication. The largest difference in risk was for the first 4 weeks of treatment for both outcomes, with patients on buprenorphine being at lower risk than those on methadone (e.g. for drug-related poisoning, IRR 0.08, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.48). The co-prescription of benzodiazepines was associated with linearly increasing the risk of drug-related deaths by dose (IRR 2.02, 95% CI 1.66 to 2.47), whereas z-drugs (zolpidem, zopiclone and zaleplon) were associated with increased risk of both all-cause (IRR 1.83, 95% CI 1.59 to 2.12) and drug-related (IRR 3.31, 95% CI 2.45 to 4.47) mortality. There was weak evidence that higher initial and final doses were associated with increased all-cause mortality risk. In the first 4 weeks of treatment, the risk increased by 4% for each 5-mg increment in methadone dose (1-mg increase in buprenorphine) (hazard ratio 1.04, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.09). In the first 4 weeks after treatment ceased, a similar increment in final dose increased the risk by 3% (hazard ratio 1.03, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.07). There were too few deaths to evaluate the effects on drug-related poisoning. The proportion of OST patients receiving buprenorphine increased between 1998 and 2006. Median treatment duration was consistently shorter for buprenorphine than for methadone for each year studied (overall median duration of 48 and 106 days, respectively).Limitations As this was an observational study, the possibility remains of bias from unmeasured factors, which covariate adjustment and inverse probability weighting can eliminate only partially.Conclusions Using buprenorphine as an alternative to methadone may not reduce mortality overall despite resulting in lower IRRs from shorter treatment duration. Clinical guidance needs to consider strengthening warnings about the co-prescription of a range of drugs for OST patients.Future work Our analyses need to be replicated using other clinical data sets in the UK and in other countries. New interventions and trials are required to investigate improving the retention of OST patients in primary care.Funding The National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme