Sex work advocacy in Aotearoa New Zealand: Advocates’ perspectives on effecting positive change: A research report presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Social Work at Massey University, Manawatu, Aotearoa New Zealand

Aotearoa New Zealand is in a unique position, being the only country to implement a model of full decriminalisation of sex work. This research explores the perspectives of sex work advocates on how they perceive their roles and the part they play in reducing the stigma associated with the sex industry. Given that Aotearoa New Zealand decriminalised sex work over a decade ago, the impact this legislation has had on the role of sex work advocacy was of particular interest. Strong radical feminist ideologies and moral judgement have succeeded in influencing international sex work legislation, including that of Sweden and Canada. However, this has not been the case for Aotearoa New Zealand. More robust research is needed to fully understand the effects these different legislative models have on the health and wellbeing of sex workers. This research project draws on a qualitative methodology and semi-structured interviews were conducted with three female sex work advocates, all of whom had lived experiences as sex workers prior to the law change, and have had significant involvement in sex work advocacy efforts, with upwards of seventeen years of advocacy experience each. The results of the study are largely consistent with the reviewed literature regarding the amount of time and effort involved in advocacy, as well as the importance of building relationships and alliances with key decision makers in order to facilitate positive change for sex workers. The results have also highlighted the positive effect decriminalisation has had on the lives and wellbeing of sex workers, and not the feared negative outcomes that oppositional groups had suggested. It was also noted that legislation alone is not enough to combat the stigma associated with the sex industry, but it does go a long way in protecting the basic rights of sex workers. So while legislative success has been achieved due to advocacy efforts, more effort is still required to counteract the existing and deeply entrenched myths surrounding sex work. With the literature detailing the Aotearoa New Zealand experience still being limited, this research contributes to the growing body of literature that advocates for the decriminalisation of sex work, with the hope of continuing to effect positive change for sex workers across the globe

The role of intrapartum intravenous therapy and method of delivery on newborn weight loss : challenging the 7% rule

It is common practice to initiate supplemental feeding in newborns if body weight decreases by 7-10% in the first few days after birth (7-10% rule). Standard hospital procedure is to initiate intravenous therapy once a woman is admitted to give birth. However, little is known about the relationship between intrapartum intravenous therapy and the amount of weight loss in the newborn. The present research was undertaken in order to determine what factors contribute to weight loss in a newborn, and to examine the relationship between the practice of intravenous intrapartum therapy and the extent of weight loss post-birth. Using a cross-sectional design with a systematic random sample of 100 mother-baby dyads, we examined properties of delivery that have the potential to impact weight loss in the newborn, including method of delivery, parity, duration of labour, volume of intravenous therapy, feeding method, and birth attendant. This study indicated that the volume of intravenous therapy and method of delivery are significant predictors of weight loss in the newborn (R2=15.5, p<0.01). ROC curve analysis identified an intravenous volume cut-point of 1225 ml that would elicit a high measure of sensitivity (91.3%), and demonstrated significant Kappa agreement (p<0.01) with excess newborn weight loss. It was concluded that infusion of intravenous therapy and natural birth delivery are discriminant factors that influence excess weight loss in newborn infants. Acknowledgement of these factors should be considered in clinical practice

Inhibition of REV-ERBs stimulates microglial amyloid-beta clearance and reduces amyloid plaque deposition in the 5XFAD mouse model of Alzheimer\u27s disease

A promising new therapeutic target for the treatment of Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) is the circadian system. Although patients with AD are known to have abnormal circadian rhythms and suffer sleep disturbances, the role of the molecular clock in regulating amyloid-beta (Aβ) pathology is still poorly understood. Here, we explored how the circadian repressors REV-ERBα and β affected Aβ clearance in mouse microglia. We discovered that, at Circadian time 4 (CT4), microglia expressed higher levels of the master clock protein BMAL1 and more rapidly phagocytosed fibrillary A

Thinking Pink? Consumer Reactions to Pink Ribbons and Vague Messages in Advertising

Many brands partner with causes in their advertising campaigns. Consumers appreciate that the brands they purchase participate in activities that contribute to a society’s well-being. This study uses copy-testing techniques to evaluate the number and types of thoughts and brand attitudes in the presence and absence of cause-related messages. Individuals saw an ad for one of two products. None of the ads stated the brand’s financial support to the cause, which is representative of many messages today. People viewing the Dansko ads with the pink ribbon generated significantly fewer thoughts than those viewing the ad without the pink ribbon. For the Fitbit ads, more thoughts were generated for the ad with the pink ribbon than the ad without the pink ribbon. The Fitbit ad with the pink ribbon and support message generated fewer positive and negative thoughts but more neutral thoughts that questioned the brand/cause relationship. Attitudes toward the brand did not vary based on the presence or absence of the pink ribbon. People who saw ads with the pink ribbon displayed more positive attitudes toward the brands’ commitment to society and misestimated the brands’ contributions to the cause

Field-induced dynamics in the quantum Brownian oscillator: An exact treatment

We consider a quantum linear oscillator coupled to a bath in equilibrium at an arbitrary temperature and then exposed to an external field arbitrary in form and strength. We then derive the reduced density operator in closed form of the coupled oscillator in a non-equilibrium state at an arbitrary time.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physics Letters

Scaling-up treatment of depression and anxiety: a global return on investment analysis

SummaryBackgroundDepression and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and disabling disorders, which result not only in an enormous amount of human misery and lost health, but also lost economic output. Here we propose a global investment case for a scaled-up response to the public health and economic burden of depression and anxiety disorders.MethodsIn this global return on investment analysis, we used the mental health module of the OneHealth tool to calculate treatment costs and health outcomes in 36 countries between 2016 and 2030. We assumed a linear increase in treatment coverage. We factored in a modest improvement of 5% in both the ability to work and productivity at work as a result of treatment, subsequently mapped to the prevailing rates of labour participation and gross domestic product (GDP) per worker in each country.FindingsThe net present value of investment needed over the period 2016–30 to substantially scale up effective treatment coverage for depression and anxiety disorders is estimated to be US$147 billion. The expected returns to this investment are also substantial. In terms of health impact, scaled-up treatment leads to 43 million extra years of healthy life over the scale-up period. Placing an economic value on these healthy life-years produces a net present value of$310 billion. As well as these intrinsic benefits associated with improved health, scaled-up treatment of common mental disorders also leads to large economic productivity gains (a net present value of $230 billion for scaled-up depression treatment and$169 billion for anxiety disorders). Across country income groups, resulting benefit to cost ratios amount to 2·3–3·0 to 1 when economic benefits only are considered, and 3·3–5·7 to 1 when the value of health returns is also included.InterpretationReturn on investment analysis of the kind reported here can contribute strongly to a balanced investment case for enhanced action to address the large and growing burden of common mental disorders worldwide.FundingGrand Challenges Canada

Women over 40, foreigners of color, and other missing persons in globalizing mediascapes: understanding marketing images as mirrors of intersectionality

Media diversity studies regularly invoke the notion of marketing images as mirrors of racism and sexism. This article develops a higher-order concept of marketing images as “mirrors of intersectionality.” Drawing on a seven-dimensional study of coverperson diversity in a globalizing mediascape, the emergent concept highlights that marketing images reflect not just racism and sexism, but all categorical forms of marginalization, including ableism, ageism, colorism, fatism, and heterosexism, as well as intersectional forms of marginalization, such as sexist ageism and racist multiculturalism. Fueled by the legacies of history, aspirational marketing logics, and an industry-wide distribution of discriminatory work, marketing images help to perpetuate multiple, cumulative, and enduring advantages for privileged groups and disadvantages for marginalized groups. In this sense, marketing images, as mirrors of intersectionality, are complicit agents in the structuration of inequitable societies