Cut off III: the social impact of utility disconnection

This paper analyses the circumstances that led to people being disconnected from utilities, the impacts of disconnection, and how people manage to finance reconnection. It is based on 171 surveys and four interviews with consumers disconnected in the second half of 2012.  Findings are compared with Cut Off survey results from 2004 and 2008, noting a number of significant changes over the past eight years. The research reveals that paid workers are just as likely as pensioners and the unemployed to be disconnected from electricity, gas or water. Disconnection is most often the result of long-term financial stress rather than a one-off event. Furthermore, a significant number of respondents reported an unusually high utility bill and debt prior to disconnection. There was also a high proportion of people who felt that retailer payment plans were unaffordable, and a large number of people did not know that vouchers or payment assistance existed to pay utility bills in emergency situations. This suggests a strong need to improve and promote existing support services and for utility retailers to engage with consumers in ways that are tailored to their needs to avoid disconnection, especially for paid workers who may not be eligible for government assistance

Acute effects of inspiratory pressure threshold loading upon airway resistance in people with asthma

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2009 Elsevier B.V.Large inspiratory pressures may impart stretch to airway smooth muscle and modify the response to deep inspiration (DI) in asthmatics. Respiratory system resistance (Rrs) was assessed in response to 5 inspiratory manoeuvres using the forced oscillation technique: (a) single unloaded DI; (b) single DI at 25 cmH2O; (c) single DI at 50% maximum inspiratory mouth pressure [MIP]; (d) 30 DIs at 50% MIP; and (e) 30 DIs at 50% MIP with maintenance of normocapnia. Rrs increased after the unloaded DI and the DI at 25 cmH2O but not after a DI at 50% MIP (3.6 ± 1.6 hPa L s−1 vs. 3.6 ± 1.5 hPa L s−1; p = 0.95), 30 DIs at 50% MIP (3.9 ± 1.5 hPa L s−1 vs. 4.2 ± 2.0 hPa L s−1; p = 0.16) or 30 DIs at 50% MIP under normocapnic conditions (3.9 ± 1.5 hPa L s−1 vs. 3.9 ± 1.5 hPa L s−1; p = 0.55). Increases in Rrs in response to DI were attenuated after single and multiple loaded breaths at 50% MIP

Paraphilias: definition, diagnosis and treatment

There is a great deal of controversy concerning paraphilia, and defining what is normal versus deviant or disordered, given that this is to some degree dependent on cultural views of acceptability. In this article, we outline these issues and describe recent progress in diagnosing and treating paraphilias

From Socrates to Selfies: Legal Education and the Metacognitive Revolution

Metacognitive thinking, a methodology for mastering intellectually challenging material, is revolutionizing legal education. Metacognition empowers people to increase their mental capabilities by discovering and correcting flaws in their thinking processes. For decades, legal educators have employed metacognitive strategies in specialized areas of the curriculum. Today, metacognition has the potential to transform legal education curriculum-wide.Current scholarship is rich, generous, and creative in exploring how metacognition can be used to enrich specific sectors of the law curriculum. What is missing, however, is a holistic examination of how metacognitive theory and practice have developed across these different sectors, with the purpose of improving the theoretical framework and increasing its effectiveness. This Article comprehensively reviews the many facets of the metacognitive revolution, drawing parallels for the first time between experiential and non-experiential pedagogies and further relating them to recent accreditation mandates. It then addresses the likelihood that an important phase of the metacognitive revolution—the mandate to implement formative assessments with meaningful feedback—might be widely but poorly implemented, and thus cause more harm than benefit. To mitigate this problem, the Article suggests two new ways of conceptualizing what constitutes “meaningful feedback.” The first is that for feedback to be meaningful, it must be accompanied by metacognitive reflection. The second is that feedback takes on meaning when prefaced by the deconstruction and abstraction, or “naming,” of legal thinking processes. Both insights emerge only upon a holistic examination of metacognitive theory and practice as they have developed across disparate sectors of the legal curriculum

Can You Hear Me Now?: Making Participatory Governance Work for the Poor

Participatory governance engages people who are affected by a problem in the process of solving it. A participatory-governance approach to inner-city crime, for example, might include local residents in the process of designing a community-policing program. In recent decades, courts, legislatures, administrative agencies, and other institutions all have used participatory-governance approaches to tackle complex problems of law and public policy. Some herald the potential for participatory-governance schemes to improve legal and policy outcomes, increase institutional accountability, empower marginalized groups, and further democratic ideals of self-determination and equality. Yet participatory-governance schemes can also promote the capture of public power by private interests, the evasion of accountability, and the deepening subordination of already marginalized communities. This is especially true when marginalized stakeholders are unable to meaningfully participate in the process. This article seeks to articulate a conceptual framework for better promoting meaningful participation by marginalized stakeholders. To do so, it draws a seemingly unlikely parallel between participatory governance systems and business transactions. Applying the framework to both court-based and non-court-based systems, it analyzes how various mechanisms might be used to promote meaningful participation by marginalized stakeholders. It concludes that where such participation cannot actively be promoted, the participatory approach should be rejected in favor of other problem-solving methods

Depression, rumination and dependency in relation to age and gender

Extensive research has been carried out in the field of depression and its relation to age and gender. This article reviews relevant literature in the field of depression, rumination and dependency and the relationships of these to age and gender. It has been shown in numerous studies that depression, rumination and dependency are related and exist in comorbidity with each other. This article also reviews some of the research that has been conducted on age and gender with relation to rumination and dependency. It has been found in relation to rumination, dependency and depression that women are more susceptible than men to these conditions in the general population. As well as the possibility that age may be the cause of difference found in the rates of depression, rumination and dependency research has found that physical illness plays a large role in predicting the occurrence of these conditions. This article looks extensively at the research on the older adult population in regards to depression, rumination and interpersonal dependency. This review also addresses the possible flaws of the studies reviewed and where future research can be focused. Depression has become a major focus in mental health in previous years and has been thought to be under-detected in an older adult population. Along with depression, maladaptive rumination and interpersonal dependency have also brought about large amounts of research in previous years but have received little attention in the older adult population. Objectives: This study looked at the relationships among depression, maladaptive rumination, adaptive rumination and interpersonal dependency in an older adult sample. It also aimed to determine whether gender differences exist across the combination of depression, maladaptive rumination, adaptive rumination and interpersonal dependency in the older adult population. Method: This study involved 116 participants over the age of 65 years. The participants responded to a postal questionnaire package. Results: The results found no significant difference in gender between the measures. The results found a strong relationship between depression and maladaptive rumination. It also found a strong relationship between depression and interpersonal dependency. Conclusions: The results suggest that gender is not a significant factor in determining depression, maladaptive rumination, adaptive rumination and/ or interpersonal dependency, in an older adult population

Neuronal Tissue Deposition of Gadolinium following Single in Vivo Intravenous Exposure of Low Doses Of Gadodiamide In the Brains of Healthy Dogs and Comparison of Single- And Multi-Voxel Spectroscopy in the Normal Canine Brain at 3 Tesla

Proton MR spectroscopy is a tool that provides quantified brain bioprofiles. Two methods exist: single- and multi-voxel spectroscopy. No studies compare their clinical validity in vivo. Gadolinium based MR contrast agents are used to improve lesional conspicuity. Adverse events are reported. Brain deposition occurs following administration in people and murine models. In dogs, doses are anecdotal and deposition is not described. Eight normal dogs underwent MRI at 3 Tesla with two methods of spectroscopy and were administered varying doses of gadodiamide. No differences were seen between single- and multi-voxel spectroscopy when interrogating identical regions of interest. Brains were harvested and evaluated for gadolinium depots using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Gadolinium was found in the brains of all dogs with dose dependency. Further, adequate normal brain conspicuity was seen at a dose of 0.5 mmol/kg. Thus, clinical trials of gadolinium chelated contrast agents at this dose are recommended

A Phenomenological Exploration of Early Childhood Educators\u27 Perseverance Experience

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the experiences which motivated early childhood educators to persevere in their positions at the same early childhood education center, for five or more years, in south-central Pennsylvania. For the purpose of this research, perseverance was generally defined as continuous teaching at the same site for five or more years. The theory guiding this study was Herzberg’s (1968) motivation hygiene theory as it addressed experiences which impacted job satisfaction and dissatisfaction, directly impacting perseverance. One central research question and two supporting research questions were used to guide the study. The central question guiding this study sought to determine how early educators of five or more years in the same early learning program described their experiences and reasons for persevering. The research subquestions focused on how early educators described their experiences that caused them to persevere in their position and how early educators who persevered described the coping methods they used to face their challenges in the early education workplace. The sample consisted of 10 teachers from four early learning centers in south central PA. Centers were selected to allow for variation in type of program and quality rating as defined by the state’s quality assurance system. Teachers were selected based on program director’s advisement with consideration taken to allow for variance in participant demographics. Data was collected through semi structured individual interviews, a focus group interview, and observations. Moustakas’ (1994) guidelines were followed for transcendental phenomenological data collection and open coding analysis. The results provide insight into experiences which motivate early education teachers to persevere, which may allow early education programs to increase retention and better support student outcomes

Turning Participation Into Power: A Water Justice Case Study

This Article offers a revamped model of participatory governance—the Constituent Empowerment Model (CE Model)—which affirmatively shifts power to the voices of marginalized constituents so that they can influence governmental policy. The CE Model focuses on three concepts necessary to produce this shift in power to those who are traditionally unheard: operationalized (feasibly realized) participation; constituent primacy; and structural accountability. To illustrate how a CE system might be constructed, this Article examines a model recently adopted in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, that is designed to shift the balance of power between the water utility and its customers. Baltimore offers a blueprint for how this new form of participatory governance could make local institutions more responsive to the needs of disempowered constituents