Building Momentum to Sustain Social Change Evaluation of the of Katrina Women's Response Fund

In the time that has passed since powerful hurricanes decimated the Gulf Coast region in 2005, the recovery and rebuilding process continues to expose the deep vulnerabilities of a society that has not effectively addressed the legacy of racism. In response to the injustices, human suffering, destruction, and massive displacement caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Ms. Foundation for Women, WFN and its partner funds, with the $1.3 million support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, continued to strengthen the Katrina Women's Response Fund (KWRF)

LOCATING THE SPIRIT BODY IN HAKKA WORLDS OF HEALTH: SPIRITUAL COLLISION AND ITS POTENTIAL FOR HEALING THROUGH A FEMALE SPIRIT MEDIUM TRADITION IN SOUTHERN CHINA

The intensities and rapid speed of cultural change within a highly competitive and developing new China has produced various states of certain crisis for both individual and social bodies. Strained familial, work and social relations, as well as deficiencies in health and welfare resources amidst increasing sicknesses and mental health issues, are major contributors. There is a great need to explore modalities and practices that might relieve such problems. Popular religious practices are often overlooked in health care research within China. Yet these practices are today being relocated and reoriented into daily life across various Chinese localities. This is the case for many Hakka Chinese populations - a people who categorize themselves as a sub-ethnic group of Han. In this research, I look at the idea of a spirit body that can be found in popular religious practice and how people in one southern Hakka region are locating it in their worlds of health. I focus on contemporary experiences of spiritual collision – an occasion where an offence between the world of the living and the netherworld is said to be committed - where local female spirit mediums called shenpo (神婆) are sought out for mediation. The application of a shenpo’s talismanic therapy partly constitutes the healing process for spiritual collision. This is explored here. I argue that these therapies not only offer a way for revitalizing a divine moral system in society, or the social body, but also for revitalizing an individual person’s jingshen (精神) – a traditional bodily knowledge referring to the essential animating spirit of life within physicality. Jingshen is often overlooked in studies of Chinese medicine and religion yet is connected to an array of symptomatic expressions. Experiences involving jingshen inform a hybrid negotiation between sacred and secular bodily knowledge, particularly that of soul loss and depression. This is the crux where spirit medium practices may be explored as health assets in modern China

Eco-Anxiety at University: Student Experiences and Academic Perspectives on Cultivating Healthy Emotional Responses to the Climate Crisis

This research looks at the overall question of how planetary health impacts mental health and psychological welling. The central focus is eco-anxiety—mental distress caused by climate change and environmental degradation—and how it manifests in university students. In order to gather data for this research I collected 114 student survey responses, interviewed seven young adults (ages 20-25), and interviewed seven experts in the fields of psychology and environmental studies. They survey results show high levels of general stress and anxiety, high levels of stress and anxiety related to climate change and the state of the world, and a very high level of importance placed on nature connection in terms of mental health and psychological resilience. Most students also reported feeling that environmental studies classes psychologically prepare them poorly—moderately well for the information they receive. The young adults and experts interviewed comment on their own experiences with eco-anxiety, the important role media plays in influencing public opinion, their distrust of most mainstream media sources, their perceptions of how climate change is represented in academia (both what’s working and what isn’t), the psychology of climate denial, the process of empowering young adults, and the importance of both nature and community connection. They also provide recommendations for students, universities, organizations, and psychologists on how to best integrate a greater focus on mental health and wellbeing as we move forward with the fight against climate change

Kent and Medway acute mental health services review

An independent analysis of the public response to a consultation on ‘achieving excellent care in a mental health crisis’ by the Centre for Nursing and Healthcare Research at the University of Greenwich. Background: This document presents the results of an analysis of the responses to the formal public consultation on Acute Mental Health Crisis Care services which took place over a 13 week period from 26 July 2012 to 26 October 2012. The consultation was conducted by NHS Kent and Medway working in partnership with Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, and the data gathered was analysed independently by the Centre for Nursing and Healthcare Research at the University of Greenwich

Finite element modeling of flow through ceramic pot filters

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-55).Pure Home Water (PHW) is an organization based in Tamale, Ghana that manufactures and distributes ceramic water filters. While many ceramic filter factories manufacture flowerpot-shaped filters, PHW has transitioned from the flowerpot shape, to a paraboloid shape, and finally to a hemispheric filter shape. The PHW factory conducts flow-rate testing as part of their quality control process and has documented a wide range of flow rates for the hemispheric filter as compared to the global standard. This thesis uses finite-element groundwater-flow modeling software to develop models of flow through three different ceramic filter shapes: flowerpot, paraboloid, and hemispheric filters. A sensitivity analysis was then conducted for each filter shape by simulating flow through the filter for a range of hydraulic conductivities. It was found that the hemispheric filter shape produces a higher flow rate than the flowerpot filter for a given hydraulic conductivity, and that the flow rate through the hemispheric filter is more sensitive to changes in hydraulic conductivity.by Anna C. Kelly.M.Eng

Giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida L.) biology, competition, and control in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

The objectives of this research were to evaluate control options and investigate the biology and competitiveness of glyphosate-resistant (GR) giant ragweed in cotton. Our results determined that glufosinate followed by glufosinate, glufosinate plus pyrithiobac, and glufosinate plus fluometuron at 0.56 or 1.12 kg ai ha-1 resulted in the highest level of visual control and the highest yield. However, glufosinate followed by glufosinate was the only treatment that resulted in the highest yield and \u3e 90% control of GR giant ragweed. The development of glufosinate-tolerant, 2,4-D tolerant, and dicamba-tolerant crops may provide growers with new opportunities for difficult-to-control weeds such as GR giant ragweed. Therefore, the next objective of this research was to evaluate control options for GR giant ragweed with 2,4-D and dicamba applied alone and in combination with glufosinate or fomesafen. Results determined that tank-mix combinations with glufosinate or fomesafen that included either 2,4-D or dicamba resulted in a higher level of control of GR giant ragweed than 2,4-D or dicamba applied alone. Tank-mixing 2,4-D or dicamba with glufosinate will be a valuable approach for controlling GR giant ragweed. The final objective was to conduct a study to determine competition of giant ragweed in cotton. Early in the growing season, treatments with 2400 or more giant ragweed plants per ha-1 reduced cotton height when compared with the competition free control. A delay in cotton maturity was observed only with higher populations of 4800 or 9600 plants. However, the effect of giant ragweed on yield was evident with the lowest population of 600 giant ragweed plants per ha-1 reducing lint yields by 300 kg ha-1 when compared with a competition free control. Cotton fiber quality was not affected by giant ragweed. These results indicate that season-long giant ragweed competition can significantly reduce cotton yields

Fun environmentalism! Potential contributions of autonomy supportive psychology to developing low carbon lifestyles in Australian households

To achieve sustainable levels of Australian household carbon emissions, individuals will have to adopt and maintain high impact pro-environmental behaviours across a number of behavioural domains. It is hypothesised that motivation type will be a critical factor in bringing about personally sustainable changes. In particular, selfdetermined (autonomous) motivation will be essential for generalisation of proenvironmental behaviour. If this hypothesis is supported, the next challenge is to identify optimal ways of promoting autonomous behaviour change, drawing on and expanding from Self-Determination Theory. It is proposed that a general move towards a positive, holistic approach to environmentalism is necessary, one aspect of which is to make environmental action more satisfying, interesting, and fun