Promising Practices: Advanced Referral System - Illinois Division of Rehabilitation Services, BPA&O Project Human Services Center

Changes in disability policy at the state and federal level have presented many new opportunities for meaningful systems change and services delivery for people with disabilities. Since 2000, the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Rehabilitation Services Administration have issued many grants to state agencies, community-based service providers and advocates to address barriers to employment for people with disabilities. Many of these grants have competitive employment as the goal, yet very few of these grants have built in support for benefits planning and assistance – a function that many believe is critical to achieving competitive employment. In this Promising Practices, the Illinois Division of Rehabilitation Services BPA&O Project (DRS BPA&O Project) and the Human Services Center (HSC), a community-based mental health center and the recipient of a DOL Customized Employment Grant, created a model partnership to ensure that the 600 consumers with severe mental illness served by HSC under their grant would gain access to benefits planning services. They call their model partnership an “Advanced Referral System.

Stable 15N isotopes in fine and coarse urban particulate matter

Particulate nitrogen has far-reaching negative effects on human health and the environment, and effective strategies for reducing it require understanding its sources and formation processes. To learn about these factors, we recorded size-resolved nitrogen isotope ratios (δ15N) of total particulate N at an urban site in northwest Germany during a four-week measuring campaign. We observed a steady decrease in δ15N when going from fine to coarse particles, with values between +18 ‰ and −2 ‰. This difference based on particle size is caused by different isotope fractionation processes during particle formation: The fine particles contain ammonium nitrate, which is formed in an equilibrium process, leading to an enrichment of 15N. Moreover, fine particles are more reactive due to their larger surface areas and relatively long residence times in the atmosphere, which leads to an additional enrichment of 15N; a key step of this process likely occurs when the ammonium particles interact with ammonia from agricultural sources. In contrast to fine particles, coarse particles are formed by direct absorption of HNO3 on preexisting particles; the HNO3 stems from traffic emissions of NOx and subsequent oxidation in the atmospheric gas phase. Because only a small amount of isotope fractionation is associated with non-equilibrium processes during phase transitions, there is less 15N enrichment in the coarse particles. Overall, nitrogen isotopes clearly reflect the different formation processes of fine and coarse aerosol particles. © 2021 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Kohtunike distsiplinaarvastutus ja distsiplinaarkolleegiumi 2002. kuni 2015. aasta praktika analüüs

http://www.ester.ee/record=b4576127*es

Cyclists’ exposure to air pollution: In situ evaluation with a cargo bike platform

Cyclists' exposure to air pollutants near roadways has been associated with numerous health effects. While the adverse health effects concerning aerosols have traditionally been assessed with data of particle mass concentrations, it appears that the number concentration is also another important indicator of toxicity. Thus, to holistically evaluate one?s exposure to aerosol particles, assessments should be based on mass concentrations and number concentrations. In order to assess individual cyclists' exposure as they move through space and time, spatiotemporal high-resolution approaches are needed. Therefore, a mobile, fast-response monitoring platform was developed that uses a cargo bicycle as a base. Data of particle mass concentrations (PM1, PM2.5, PM10) and particle number concentrations (PN10) were collected along two different routes, one characterized by high-intensity vehicle traffic and one by low-intensity vehicle traffic. While high spatiotemporal heterogeneity was observed for all measured quantities, the PN10 concentrations fluctuated the most. High concentrations of PN10 could be clearly associated with vehicle traffic. For PM2.5, this relation was less pronounced. Mean particle concentrations of all measures were significantly higher along the high-traffic route. Comparing route exposures, the inhalation of PM2.5 was similar between both routes, whereas along the high-traffic route, cyclists were exposed to twice the particle number. We conclude that the cargo bike, featuring high-frequency mobile measurements, was useful to characterize the spatial distribution of mass concentrations and number concentrations across an urban environment. Overall, our results suggest that the choice of route is a key factor in reducing cyclists' exposure to air pollution.Fil: Carreras, Hebe Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Ehrnsperger, Laura. University Of Münster; AlemaniaFil: Klemm, Otto. University Of Münster; AlemaniaFil: Paas, Bastian. University Of Münster; Alemani

Doing Interventions : Experiments and Collaborations in Contemporary Ethnography

In dieser Einleitung zur 83. Ausgabe der Kulturanthropologie Notizen stellen wir das Konzept der Intervention ins Zentrum und betonen wie Forscher:innen und ihre Felder immer aufeinander bezogen sind. Während wir grundsätzlich davon ausgehen, dass ethnographische Studien per se als interventionistisch verstanden werden können, diskutieren wir ‚doing interventions‘ als einen spezifischen, ethnographischen methodischen Ansatz und reflektieren insbesondere Experimente und Kollaborationen sowie deren epistemischen Effekte. In diesem Sinne verweisen Interventionen mit/in der Ethnographie auf ethnographisches Wissen, das einen Effekt auf das Feld hat, während die Praxis des Intervenierens zugleich auch die ethnographische Wissensproduktion verändern kann. Die Autor:innen dieser Ausgabe der Kulturanthropologie Notizen zeigen anhand einer Vielzahl von Beispielen, wie sich Interventionen mit und in der Ethnographie in der Praxis ausgestalten lassen und wie diese Modi miteinander verflochten sind. Die Fallstudien reichen von ethnografischer Forschung im globalen Lebensmittelsektor und in der Rohstoffindustrie über Feldforschung in und mit der Sozialpsychiatrie bis hin zu neuen Formen der Zusammenarbeit während der COVID-19-Pandemie. Nicht zuletzt wird die Anthropologie als Veränderungswissenschaft diskutiert. Was die Texte eint, ist die Überzeugung, dass Interventionen mit/in der Ethnographie das Potential haben Etabliertes und Selbstverständliches in Frage zu stellen, normative und dominante Wahrnehmungen der Wissensproduktion zu transformieren, Diskurse zu irritieren und gleichzeitig die Re-Imagination und Re-Konzeptualisierung der ethnographischen Praxis  zu fördern

Under Construction – Zum Umbau von Praxisarchitekturen des Lehrens und Lernens in pandemischen Zeiten

Mit der Ausbreitung von SARS-CoV-2 veränderte sich die universitäre Lehre weltweit grundlegend. Dieser Beitrag diskutiert diese Veränderungen aus einer praxistheoretischen Perspektive auf Lehren und Lernen und fragt dabei, wie sich relationalen Architekturen von Lehr- und Lernpraktiken mit der Pandemie zeitlich, räumlich und sozial verändert haben. Auf Basis einer Mixed-Methods-Studie aus dem Sommersemester 2020 mit Fokus auf sozial- und geisteswissenschaftliche Studiengänge einer deutschen Hochschule zeichnen wir nach, wie zeitliche, räumliche und soziale Elemente von Lehr- und Lernpraktiken zusammenhängen, und leiten daraus Handlungsimplikationen für die universitäre Praxis ab

Adequacy of the production rules

Adequacy of the production rules

"Minderjährig", "männlich" - "stark"? Bedeutungsaushandlungen der Selbst- und Fremdzuschreibung junger Geflüchteter in Malta: eine intersektionelle Leseweise ethnografischer Forschungsausschnitte

Der Beitrag zeigt, inwiefern männliche* junge Geflüchtete in Malta entlang sozial konstruierter Kategorien eingeteilt, markiert und repräsentiert werden. Dafür wird eine intersektionelle Leseweise, orientiert an den Critical Diversity Studies, für ethnografische Forschungsausschnitte erarbeitet. Deutlich wird, wie gesellschaftliche Normalitätsvorstellungen in Interaktionen zwischen geflüchteten und nicht-geflüchteten Akteur*innen wirkmächtig bzw. (re)produziert werden. Herausgestellt werden demgegenüber Uneindeutigkeiten und Praktiken der Differenzproduktion, die aus normativen/kategorialen Rahmensetzungen herausfallen.The article shows to what extent young male* refugees in Malta are marked, represented and grouped along socially constructed categories. We develop an intersectional way of reading ethnographic descriptions based on critical diversity studies. We illustrate how normative notions of these categories become efficacious in interactions between refugee and non-refugee actors. Based on this analysis, assumed, normalized clarities are not re-pro-duced, but ambiguities as well as the practices of producing differences beyond the legal framework are analyzed

Labor mobility and the Affordable Care Act : heterogeneous impacts of the preexisting conditions provision

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) preexisting conditions provision ensures that insurance companies can no longer deny coverage, charge higher premiums, or exclude coverage due to a preexisting health condition. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of the provision on labor mobility. We use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics for years 2009 through 2019 and estimate difference‐in‐differences models to determine whether the provision improved labor mobility for individuals with chronic conditions. While females respond along the extensive margin by being less likely to work, males experience broader labor mobility improvements. Men are more likely to start a new job, become employed in a different industry, and move to a different state in the post‐policy period. Labor mobility improvements are largest among males with household incomes greater than 138% of the federal poverty level, males ages 35 to 49, and males with conditions first diagnosed more than 10 years ago. Last, we show that the policy improved access to health insurance coverage and reduced the likelihood that health impacts the amount or type of work, which ultimately increased labor market flexibility. Our results highlight the heterogenous impacts of the provision on different subgroups of the population

Decrease in paediatric emergency room visits during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions : A population-based study

Aim To investigate paediatric emergency room (ER) visits to evaluate the immediate health effects of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on children. Methods We retrospectively examined paediatric ER visits in the Helsinki University Hospital (HUH) district during the first wave of the pandemic (1 March to 31 May 2020), and a 2-month period immediately before and after. These periods were compared to the corresponding time periods in 2015-2019 ('reference period'). Results The total number of ER visits decreased by 23.4% (mean 6474 during the reference period, 4960 during the pandemic period (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 0.75, 95% confidence interval 0.72-0.77; p < 0.001). This was due to a decrease in visits related to infectious diseases; visits due to surgical reasons did not decrease. The amount or proportion of patients triaged to the most urgent class (Emergency Severity Index 1) did not increase. Paediatric ER visits returned to baseline after lifting of restrictions. Conclusions Although paediatric ER visits substantially decreased during the pandemic restrictions, children seen at the ER were not more severely ill. Our results do not indicate immediate detrimental health effects of pandemic control measures on children.Peer reviewe