The Importance of Policy for Community Economic Development: A Case Study of the Manitoba Context

This Participatory Action Research project will engage community economic development and social economy actors in Manitoba in identifying policy priorities that will support the sector in building stronger communities and will identify various effective strategies and models of policy advancement. The project will include a scan of existing policy and programs in Manitoba as well as a comparative analysis with the policy context in Quebec, this later component completed in partnership with the National Social Economy Research Hub. The research will also consider various effective models of policy advancement in order to design more effective policy implementation strategies

Relational Approach to Knowledge Engineering for POMDP-based Assistance Systems as a Translation of a Psychological Model

Assistive systems for persons with cognitive disabilities (e.g. dementia) are difficult to build due to the wide range of different approaches people can take to accomplishing the same task, and the significant uncertainties that arise from both the unpredictability of client's behaviours and from noise in sensor readings. Partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) models have been used successfully as the reasoning engine behind such assistive systems for small multi-step tasks such as hand washing. POMDP models are a powerful, yet flexible framework for modelling assistance that can deal with uncertainty and utility. Unfortunately, POMDPs usually require a very labour intensive, manual procedure for their definition and construction. Our previous work has described a knowledge driven method for automatically generating POMDP activity recognition and context sensitive prompting systems for complex tasks. We call the resulting POMDP a SNAP (SyNdetic Assistance Process). The spreadsheet-like result of the analysis does not correspond to the POMDP model directly and the translation to a formal POMDP representation is required. To date, this translation had to be performed manually by a trained POMDP expert. In this paper, we formalise and automate this translation process using a probabilistic relational model (PRM) encoded in a relational database. We demonstrate the method by eliciting three assistance tasks from non-experts. We validate the resulting POMDP models using case-based simulations to show that they are reasonable for the domains. We also show a complete case study of a designer specifying one database, including an evaluation in a real-life experiment with a human actor

The Impact of Participation in Service-Learning on High School Students\u27 Civic Engagement

Recent evidence suggests that there is a growing problem of civic disengagement among youth in the United States. Young people in high school report having little interest in civic and political affairs and little knowledge of or trust in the political system (Levine & Lopez, 2002; National Commission on Service-Learning, 2001; Rahm & Transue, 1998; Torney-Purta, 2002). Results from a recent poll indicate that many young people do not feel they can make a difference, solve problems in their communities, or have a meaningful impact on politics or government (Lake Snell Perry & Associates and The Tarrance Group, Inc, 2002). Policymakers and educational leaders alike have noted the woeful lack of interest in civic activities among youth and express concern about the future of democracy (for example, Education Commission of the States, 2002; National Commission on Service-Learning, 2001). Lack of engagement in the political system is particularly pronounced for young women and urban youth (Niemi & Junn, 1998; Hart & Atkins, 1992). There are also differences between students based on achievement levels. Research has shown that students with a stronger record of academic achievement demonstrate greater political knowledge (Niemi & Junn, 1998), and higher rates of community participation (Nolin, Chaney, Chapman, & Chandler, 1997) than those with lower achievement levels

Phytolith evidence for the pastoral origins of multi-cropping in Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq)

Multi-cropping was vital for provisioning large population centers across ancient Eurasia. In Southwest Asia, multi-cropping, in which grain, fodder, or forage could be reliably cultivated during dry summer months, only became possible with the translocation of summer grains, like millet, from Africa and East Asia. Despite some textual sources suggesting millet cultivation as early as the third millennium BCE, the absence of robust archaeobotanical evidence for millet in semi-arid Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq) has led most archaeologists to conclude that millet was only grown in the region after the mid-first millennium BCE introduction of massive, state-sponsored irrigation systems. Here, we present the earliest micro-botanical evidence of the summer grain broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) in Mesopotamia, identified using phytoliths in dung-rich sediments from Khani Masi, a mid-second millennium BCE site located in northern Iraq. Taphonomic factors associated with the region’s agro-pastoral systems have likely made millet challenging to recognize using conventional macrobotanical analyses, and millet may therefore have been more widespread and cultivated much earlier in Mesopotamia than is currently recognized. The evidence for pastoral-related multi-cropping in Bronze Age Mesopotamia provides an antecedent to first millennium BCE agricultural intensification and ties Mesopotamia into our rapidly evolving understanding of early Eurasian food globalization

Intimate partner violence, health behaviours, and chronic physical illness among South African women

The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.zaObjectives: An association between intimate partner violence and adverse physical health outcomes and health-risk behaviours among women has been established, most scientific research having been conducted in the USA and other developed countries. There have been few studies in developing countries, including South Africa, which has one of the highest rates of intimate partner violence in the world. We therefore sought to study the association between physical intimate partner violence and physical health outcomes and behaviours among South African women. Methods: Using data from the cross-sectional, nationally representative South African Stress and Health Study, we assessed exposure to intimate partner violence, health-risk behaviours, health-seeking behaviours and chronic physical illness among a sample of 1 229 married and cohabiting women. Results: The prevalence of reported violence was 31%. This correlated with several health-risk behaviours (smoking, alcohol consumption, and use of non-medical sedatives, analgesics and cannabis) and health-seeking behaviours (recent visits to a medical doctor or healer). Intimate partner violence was not significantly associated with chronic physical illness, although rates of headache, heart attack and high blood pressure reached near-significance. Conclusions: Partner violence against women is a significant public health problem in South Africa, associated with healthrisk behaviours and increased use of medical services. Public health programmes should incorporate interventions to mitigate the impact of violence on victims and reduce the risk of negative behavioural outcomes. Further investigation of the pathways between violence exposure and health behaviours is needed to inform the design of such programming.Publishers' versio

Human-Associated Microbial Signatures: Examining Their Predictive Value

SummaryHost-associated microbial communities are unique to individuals, affect host health, and correlate with disease states. Although advanced technologies capture detailed snapshots of microbial communities, high within- and between-subject variation hampers discovery of microbial signatures in diagnostic or forensic settings. We suggest turning to machine learning and discuss key directions toward harnessing human-associated microbial signatures

The Effects of Professional Development on Elementary Students’ Mathematics Achievement

This paper describes the effects of a professional development (PD) program – Developing Mathematical Thinking – on student achievement. Six Title I elementary schools with similar demographics, within one school district, were chosen to participate as either a treatment or comparison school. Three schools were chosen to participate in professional development that incorporates effective PD recommendations. All the teachers had to participate in all aspects of the PD, thereby eliminating potential self-selection bias. Using the state standardized achievement test as the before and after measure, results suggest improved student performance after professional development was implemented over a two year period

Session A1- Basinwide approaches to prioritizing stream connectivity projects

Repairing, removing and retrofitting barriers (e.g., installing fish ladders) are seen as some of the most effective and cost-efficient means of habitat restoration available. However, in spite of the potential benefits, surprisingly little has been done with regard to the development of quantitative/analytic planning methods for prioritizing barrier repair and removal decisions. Our presentation will summarize efforts under way since 2006 to bring together state and federal agencies and non-governmental organizations to build an inventory of fish passage barriers in Maine. We will present systemic methods for prioritizing the repair or removal of fish passage barriers for diadromous and resident fishes. Working with a variety of partners, we have developed GIS tools and budget-constrained optimization models for deciding which barriers to repair or remove in order to maximize habitat availability for stream resident fish and diadromous fish species

One-step fabrication of microchannels with integrated three dimensional features by hot intrusion embossing

We build on the concept of hot intrusion embossing to develop a one-step fabrication method for thermoplastic microfluidic channels containing integrated three-dimensional features. This was accomplished with simple, rapid-to-fabricate imprint templates containing microcavities that locally control the intrusion of heated thermoplastic based on their cross-sectional geometries. The use of circular, rectangular and triangular cavity geometries was demonstrated for the purposes of forming posts, multi-focal length microlense arrays, walls, steps, tapered features and three-dimensional serpentine microchannels. Process variables, such as temperature and pressure, controlled feature dimensions without affecting the overall microchannel geometry. The approach was demonstrated for polycarbonate, cycloolefin copolymer and polystyrene, but in principle is applicable to any thermoplastic. The approach is a step forward towards rapid fabrication of complex, robust, microfluidic platforms with integrated multi-functional elements