SUSTAINABLE RURAL HOUSING AND THE CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE: EXPERIENCES FROM ETHIOPIA

There is now overwhelming evidence that global warming is taking place, but the impacts on the built environment are less effectively documented. Similarly, climate instability is an additional factor in increasing movement of rural populations to ur-ban centres. Inadequate living conditions in rural areas are also recognised as key components in encouraging such migration – hence efforts to create improved rural housing which is sustainable, affordable and desirable is a fundamental challenge. The Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC) at Addis Ababa University is committed to developing research and practice into ways of planning and designing housing and settlements to make them more responsive to both to climatic instability and the challenging socio-economic circumstances of Ethiopia. This paper reports on an on-going experimental sustainable rural housing project which is working with local communities to improve traditional vernacular housing through a range of innovative technologies and practices. Following detailed research into local construction technologies and lifestyles, full size prototypes were constructed to explore the positive elements of vernacular architecture within the framework of sustainability, and to test both the technologies and response of residents. This project is one of several live construction projects in the university which is also developing proposals for urban communities. These innovative projects are analysed in the context of climate change responses and sustainable development paradigms

Moving the narrative forward: Communication and strategic responses to violent dowry conflict in India

Strategic communication is at the forefront of moving the narrative of violent dowry conflict in India forward in purposeful and integrated ways. We examine three of these interrelated and interconnected areas of strategic communication: The engagement of shero narratives; systemic changes brought about by the broader social movements for anti-violence and women’s rights; and the crucial role of new and social media in cultivating social-justice based change. Implications for the relationship of communication and peacebuilding are explored

¿Tecnología inapropiada? Experiencias de vivienda social en gran Bretaña

During the 1960's and early 1970's heavy prefabricated construction systems were employed on a large scale to attempt to solve the acute shortage of public housing in Britain. Subsequently a high percentage of these multi-storey blocks experienced severe problems: some because of serious technical faults, whilst others for largely social reasons. The problems worsened and during the 1980's large numbers of these blocks were demolished barely 20 years after their construction. This paper assesses the effects of technological choice in housing, discusses the interrelationship between technology design and social factors, and explores the explanations and implications of these failures.Durante los años sesenta y años setenta se implantó un programa a gran escala de conjuntos en altura utilizando sistemas de prefabricación pesada para superar el agudo déficit de vivienda social en Gran Bretaña. Un alto porcentaje de estos conjuntos han resultado problemáticos; algunos por serias fallas técnicas y otros por razones sociales. En los últimos años los problemas han venido creciendo hasta que se ha empezado a demoler miles de estas viviendas, la mayoría de las cuales apenas tienen 20 años de vida. Este artículo evalúa los efectos de decisiones sobre tecnología en vivienda, habla de la interrelación entre tecnología, diseño y factores sociales, y explora las explicaciones e implicaciones de estos problemas

Staff engagement for practice change in long-term care: evaluating the Feasible and Sustainable Culture Change Initiative (FASCCI) model

Context: Interventions aimed at increasing the provision of person-centred care in long-term care (LTC) homes, that do not address contextual and system issues, most often fail. Promoting positive change in LTC homes requires requires a multilevel, systems approach. Objectives: Evaluate the effectiveness of the Feasible and Sustainable Culture Change Initiative (FASCCI) model for improving the provision of person-centred mealtime practices in a LTC home. Methods: A single-group, time series design was used to assess the impact of the FASCCI model for change on outcome measures across four time periods (pre-intervention, 2-month, 4-month and 6-month follow-up). Differences in scores from baseline were assessed utilizing Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Interviews (n = 21) were also conducted to examine treatment fidelity and to ascertain the study participants’ perceptions of the process for making improvements using the FASCCI model. Findings: We observed increases in care staff’s capacity to consistently provide relational and person-centred care during mealtimes. Mealtime environment scores started increasing immediately following the intervention, with statistically significant improvements in all mealtime environment scales by six-months, including: the physical environment (W = 55.00, p = 0.008); social environment (W = 55.00, p = 0.008); relationship-centred care (W = 45.00, p = 0.014); and overall quality of dining environment (W = 55.00, p = 0.010). Analysis of data from qualitative interviews demonstrated that use of the FASCCI model resulted in improved team leadership, communication, and collaborative decision-making. Limitations: Generalizability is limited due to the small sample size and use of convenience sampling methods. Implications: Outcomes indicate that the FASCCI model seems promising in its ability to improve PCC mealtime practices in LTC homes and is worthy of a larger scale study. The results further demonstrate the value of supportive team environments in quality dementia care

Early warning scores generated in developed healthcare settings are not sufficient at predicting early mortality in Blantyre, Malawi : a prospective cohort study

Early warning scores (EWS) are widely used in well-resourced healthcare settings to identify patients at risk of mortality. The Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) is a well-known EWS used comprehensively in the United Kingdom. The HOTEL score (Hypotension, Oxygen saturation, Temperature, ECG abnormality, Loss of independence) was developed and tested in a European cohort; however, its validity is unknown in resource limited settings. This study compared the performance of both scores and suggested modifications to enhance accuracy

Searching for black holes in subways.

Abstract Current mobile agent algorithms for mapping faults in computer networks assume that the network is static. However, for large classes of highly dynamic networks (e.g., wireless mobile ad hoc networks, sensor networks, vehicular networks), the topology changes as a function of time. These networks, called delay-tolerant, challenged, opportunistic, etc., have never been investigated with regard to locating faults. We consider a subclass of these networks modelled on an urban subway system. We examine the problem of creating a map of such a subway. More precisely, we study the problem of a team of asynchronous computational entities (the mapping agents) determining the location of black holes in a highly dynamic graph, whose edges are defined by the asynchronous movements of mobile entities (the subway carriers). We determine necessary conditions for the problem to be solvable. We then present and analyze a solution protocol; we show that our algorithm solves the fault mapping problem in subway networks with the minimum number of agents possible, k = γ + 1, where γ is the number of carrier stops at black holes. The number of carrier moves between stations required by the algorithm in the worst case is , where n C is the number of subway trains, and l R is the length of the subway route with the most stops. We establish lower bounds showing that this bound is tight. Thus, our protocol is both agent-optimal and move-optimal

An Examination of the Persistence of Socialist Institutions within Australian 20th Century Capitalism: With a Case Study of NSW Education until 1955

As a system to satisfy society's needs, capitalism has some utility, the more so if all classes and individuals have some capital. As the ABS contends, "the economic wellbeing of individuals is largely determined by their command over economic resources." In spite of any trickle down of wealth from the dominant capitalist structures and institutions, certain basic impediments to the satisfaction of needs exist for those within society without command over economic resources. That capital and/or wealth are asymmetrically distributed in Australia is demonstrated by the ABS's statistical exposition, such that in 2009-10 the wealthiest 20% owned 66% of the total household wealth, while the poorest 20% owned 1% of total household wealth. The middle cohort, 60% of all households, possessed the residual of around 33%. Moreover, the wealthiest cohort experienced a 15% increase in wealth since 2005-6, while the lowest cohort increased their wealth by only 4% in the same period. It is the lacuna in the satisfaction of social needs that arises from the unequal distribution of income and wealth and the persistence of certain socialistic counter measures that sets the context for this thesis. It is argued that the inequality of satisfaction of needs in an unequal society such as Australia (and many other similar advanced countries) can be and has been remedied by institutionalised 'socialist process systems', to the extent that they have become part of the structure of Australian society

Modelling Identity Disturbance: A Network Analysis of the Personality Structure Questionnaire (PSQ)

Due to the relevance of identity disturbance to personality disorder this study sought to complete a network analysis of a well validated measure of identity disturbance; the personality structure questionnaire (PSQ). A multi-site and cross-national methodology created an overall sample of N = 1549. The global network structure of the PSQ was analysed and jointly estimated networks were compared across four subsamples (UK versus Italy, adults versus adolescents, clinical versus community and complex versus common presenting problems). Stability analyses assessed the robustness of identified networks. Results indicated that PSQ3 (unstable sense of self) and PSQ5 (mood variability) were the most central items in the global network structure. Network structures significantly differed between the UK and Italy. Centrality of items was largely consistent across subsamples. This study provides evidence of the potential network structure of identity disturbance and so guides clinicians in targeting interventions facilitating personality integration