St. Regis Mohawk Trip Report: Assessment of Mold and Moisture Conditions

Kate Brown of the Building Research Council at the University of Illinois and Paul Knight of Magna Systems, Inc. conducted a site visit at the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation on December 9-11, 2002. The purpose of the site visit was to conduct onsite assessments of mold and moisture conditions in homes located on the reservation. This is a summary report of activities and issues identified while on site. A detailed analysis of the findings and recommendations is found in the attached report, titled: Technical Housing Assessment Report: Examining Mold and Moisture Conditions of Homes on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation.U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Native American Program

A New Look at Racial Profiling: Evidence from the Boston Police Department

This paper provides new evidence on the role of preference-based versus statistical discrimination in racial profiling using a unique data set that includes the race of both the driver and the officer. We first generalize the model presented in Knowles, Persico and Todd (2001) and show that the fundamental insight that allows them to distinguish between statistical discrimination and preference-based discrimination depends on the specialized shapes of the best response functions in their model. Thus, the test that they employ is not robust to a range of alternative modeling assumptions. However, we also show that if statistical discrimination alone explains differences in the rate at which the vehicles of drivers of different races are searched, then search decisions should be independent of officer race. We then test this prediction using data from the Boston Police Department. Consistent with preference-based discrimination, our baseline results demonstrate that officers are more likely to conduct a search if the race of the officer differs from the race of the driver. We then investigate and rule out two alternative explanations for our findings: race-based informational asymmetries between officers and the assignment of officers to neighborhoods.

Climate-compatible development in New Zealand

Like many countries, New Zealand is grappling with how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while adapting to climate change. We are working through a Zero Carbon Bill and the implications of transitioning to a low-carbon economy. The country is being told it needs a more co-ordinated and effective way to prepare for climate change impacts, as local government is formulating adaptation and mitigation strategies in an uncertain and, as discussed below, at times confusing legal and policy framework. Potentially helpful is a concept evolving internationally, climatecompatible development. This promotes the idea of explicitly combining strategies and policies for emissions reductions and adaptation initiatives while enabling improvements in human wellbeing. This article explores the usefulness of such a concept for New Zealand

Thinking beyond circles: Developing collaborative, cross disciplinary design education for circularity

This presentation discusses a case study of a material-lifecycle design project developed between educators, textile researchers and industry. Designed as a one-week sprint, the cross-disciplinary project invited graphic design students to visualise a product lifecycle for a circular textile industry client, considering the new knowledge that visual communication methods, more traditionally taught in graphic design programmes, bring to these challenges. Literature discussing practice-based design research recognises the growing demand for design specific research approaches. It also recognises the need for ‘a new kind of designer’ with an ‘expanded capacity to undertake research.’ (Vaughan 2017:1-2). This project explores how cross-disciplinary teaching and learning collaborations contribute to these goals by integrating live research projects with the curriculum through processes of knowledge exchange. Methods employed in the project were grounded in literature from the field of practice-based iconic research (Renner, 2017); a research practice based on image-making as a means of producing knowledge about visual communication (Schubach, 2017). The online project design is presented, demonstrating how the brief and activities were structured for students, and framed by relevant literature. The visual prototypes created by students are discussed in relation to the literature and feedback from the students, client and researchers; demonstrating the benefits of the approach for both the students and the researchers We argue that teaching and learning practices have the potential to play a key role in connecting research and innovation to environmental and social practice. Findings point in the direction of a shared language for discussing the intersections of knowledge exchange, research and teaching within Higher education with reference to existing examples but also to support the development of future models

Doctors have an ethical obligation to ask patients about food insecurity: what is stopping us?

Inadequate diet is the leading risk factor for morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, approaches to identifying inadequate diets in clinical practice remain inconsistent, and dietary interventions (on both individual and public health policy levels) frequently focus on facilitating ‘healthy choices’, with limited emphasis on structural constraints. We examine the ethical implications of introducing a routine question in the medical history about ability to access food. Not collecting data on food security means that clinicians are unable to identify people who may benefit from support on an individual level, unable to consider relevant dietary risk factors for disease and disease progression and unable to monitor population trends and inequalities in dietary access in order to design effective policy interventions. We argue that the current lack of routine screening for food insecurity is inconsistent with our approach to other health behaviours (eg, smoking and alcohol use), as well as with doctors’ frequent informal role as gatekeepers to the food aid system, and recent calls for governmental action on food insecurity and health inequalities from individual clinicians and professional bodies. Potential ethical barriers to asking patients about food security are addressed, including concerns about stigma, limiting autonomy, fair resource allocation, unclear professional remits and clinicians’ ability to offer effective interventions. We suggest that there is an ethical imperative for doctors to ask patients about their ability to access healthy food. Gathering this data provides a valuable first step in re-framing the social determinants of health as modifiable risks, rather than inevitable inequities

Parental involvement in elite junior slalom canoeing

2016 Copyright © Association for Applied Sport Psychology This study's aim was to examine elite youth athletes’ views on parental involvement in training, competition, and at home. Eight canoeists were interviewed up to 4 times and completed written diaries over a 6-week period. Results indicated that parents were generally deemed to have a positive influence through domain specific and cross-domain behaviors. Positive behaviors included parents focusing on their children's holistic development at home, motivational and constructive evaluation at training, and limiting demands on athletes through the provision of practical support, reading and understanding the situation and their child, and supporting the development of growth mind-set across all domains

Thinking beyond circles: developing visual research methods for circularity in design education

This paper presents a case study of a material-lifecycle design project developed between educators, researchers and industry. Communicating and conceptualising circularity presented an opportunity to expand the reach of the research into a curriculum intervention. The project invited graphic design students to visualise a product lifecycle for a circular textile industry client. This paper explores the challenges of communicating circular lifecycles to non-expert audiences. It is acknowledged that there is a need for new kinds of designers in practice-based research. Therefore, the presentation presents examples of new knowledge that visual communication methods, more traditionally taught in graphic design programmes can bring to research. Drawing on practice-based iconic research methods, which in contrast to theory-driven research enabled the production of images as a means producing knowledge about visual communication. Through an after-action review, the research demonstrated three surprising approaches to communication of circular processes that typically creates diagrams with icons in a circular shape. Through working with non-experts, the research exposed the client and the research team to range of visual approaches, namely, symbolic, non-circular and quantitative visuals. The research found that visual communication methods have the potential to play a pivotal role in development of new visual languages for circularity. It concludes that visual research methods can bring different design disciplines closer and build a stronger educational base for the transition to a circular economy

The subject specialist in higher education: professional engagement

The university subject librarians' role is at the centre of new models of teaching and learning, yet further debate and published contributions are still needed to shape its future direction. Subject Librarians: Engaging with the Learning and Teaching Environment assesses trends and challenges in current practice, and aims to encourage renewed thinking and improved approaches. Its editors and authors include experienced practitioners and academics. At a time of great change and increasing challenges in higher education this book offers directors of academic services, library managers, librarians and lecturers a chance to reflect on the key issues and consider the needs of the learning community. Subject Librarians: Engaging with the Learning and Teaching Environment also provides a perspective on current practice and a reference source for students of Information Management and Information Studie