Disguised compliance or undisguised nonsense?:A critical discourse analysis of compliance and resistance in social work practice.

This article examines how the term disguised compliance first emerged and developed into the popular catchphrase that is used in practice today. Using critical discourse analysis, we explore how language affects practice and how social workers draw on a predetermined concept to rationalise concerns relating to parental resistance. We contend that concepts such as disguised compliance are misleading as they do not improve social workers’ abilities in detecting resistance or compliance. Instead, we argue that social workers should be cautious when using popular mantras which on the surface appear effective in describing parents’ behaviours but, in reality, conceal concerns relating to risk, accountability and blame. This study differs from the current literature which advocates social workers should be aware of disguised compliance by shifting the emphasis away from the behaviours of parents and towards acknowledging the power such discursive activities can have on practice

Modeling Circular Urban Metabolism in Santiago de Chile: Waste Tire Management

Cities account for over 70% of greenhouse gas emissions and consume over two-thirds of the world’s energy. With the continued rise of urbanization, 68% by 2050 as projected by the UN, cities must be redesigned to ensure emissions, and the associated negative impacts of climate change, do not also increase proportionately. One framework through which a city’s sustainability can be analyzed is through the lens of urban metabolism; the inflows, use, and outflows of a city’s resources are viewed as analogous to the functions and processes of an organism. To truly become sustainable, city metabolisms must become “circular,” with high quality resources being recirculated and reused throughout the system, thus diminishing the rate of resource exploitation. Through better understanding of a city’s urban metabolism, governments can implement policies targeting the points of the system with the biggest impact and increase their city’s environmental resilience. Our research focus is on Santiago de Chile, Region Metropolitana, and future management of waste tires. Santiago, as a densely populated city experiencing economic growth paired with rising inequality and environmental sustainability challenges, is an ideal testing ground for innovative environmental policies that could be applied elsewhere in urban Latin America. This material flow is particularly topical as it is one of six products covered by the new Ley de Responsibilidad Extendida del Productor (REP), an extended producer liability law that shifts responsibility of a products’ end-of-life phase from the consumer to the producer. REP is a critical area of interest for the Chilean Ministry of the Environment as well as our client, the EARTH Institute at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. We conduct a Material Flow and Impact Analysis of future tire streams in Santiago. Using this analysis, we compare scenarios for managing end-of-life tires (ELTs) to understand which tire circularity strategies will have the greatest positive environmental, social, and economic impact. We find that promoting ELT management strategies that focus on energyrecovery will best promote environmental sustainability and human health while minimizing consumption of water and fossil fuels. There is a tradeoff as energy recovery is more expensive and has a minimal impact on material circularity compared to a baseline scenario and we discuss a potential impact score through the lens of Chilean environmental policy. We further recommend that both an Advanced Disposal Fee (ADF) and a Deposit Refund System (DRS) are considered as potential economic policy instruments to facilitate ELT collection.Master of ScienceSchool for Environment and SustainabilityUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163335/1/Modeling Circular Urban Metabolism in Santiago de Chile_356.pd

Physical activity and screen-viewing policies in Canadian childcare centers

Background: Physical activity (PA) offers numerous health benefits for young children; however, many children enrolled in childcare engage in low levels of PA and high levels of sedentary time. This study aimed to describe the prevalence and content of written PA and screen-viewing (SV) policies in Canadian childcare centers. Methods: Using a modified version of the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation Self-Report (EPAO-SR) tool, an online survey was distributed to all directors/administrators of center-based childcare facilities across Canada. Reminder emails were sent to encourage survey completion and a strong response rate. Descriptive statistics were used to explore demographic characteristics and frequencies were run to examine the number of centers that implemented a PA or SV policy. Deductive content analysis was completed to identify common themes in participants\u27 open-ended responses. Results: A total of 1158 childcare representatives participated in the study; 514 provided complete data. Of these, 295 (44%) centers indicated having a written PA policy (with the majority regulated at the provincial/territorial-level; n = 227; 42%). Content of these policies included amount of time: spent outdoors (n = 395; 63%); in teacher-led active play (n = 101; 16%); and PA education for children (n = 91; 16%). Additionally, 178 (29%) respondents reported a written policy regarding SV (with majority regulated at the center-level; n = 173; 34%) and primarily focusing on amount of time children watch television. Conclusions: PA regulations are more common than SV policies in Canadian childcare centers; however, less than half implement a PA policy and only a third adopt SV regulations. An opportunity exists to advance practice by adopting proactive approaches to encouraging young children to be more active and less sedentary in childcare (i.e., through written policies). Supplementing policy with accessible resources, as well as consistent provision of early childhood educator (staff) training, represent important steps for putting said policies into action

Considerations for the future development of virtual technology as a rehabilitation tool

BACKGROUND: Virtual environments (VE) are a powerful tool for various forms of rehabilitation. Coupling VE with high-speed networking [Tele-Immersion] that approaches speeds of 100 Gb/sec can greatly expand its influence in rehabilitation. Accordingly, these new networks will permit various peripherals attached to computers on this network to be connected and to act as fast as if connected to a local PC. This innovation may soon allow the development of previously unheard of networked rehabilitation systems. Rapid advances in this technology need to be coupled with an understanding of how human behavior is affected when immersed in the VE. METHODS: This paper will discuss various forms of VE that are currently available for rehabilitation. The characteristic of these new networks and examine how such networks might be used for extending the rehabilitation clinic to remote areas will be explained. In addition, we will present data from an immersive dynamic virtual environment united with motion of a posture platform to record biomechanical and physiological responses to combined visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive inputs. A 6 degree-of-freedom force plate provides measurements of moments exerted on the base of support. Kinematic data from the head, trunk, and lower limb was collected using 3-D video motion analysis. RESULTS: Our data suggest that when there is a confluence of meaningful inputs, neither vision, vestibular, or proprioceptive inputs are suppressed in healthy adults; the postural response is modulated by all existing sensory signals in a non-additive fashion. Individual perception of the sensory structure appears to be a significant component of the response to these protocols and underlies much of the observed response variability. CONCLUSION: The ability to provide new technology for rehabilitation services is emerging as an important option for clinicians and patients. The use of data mining software would help analyze the incoming data to provide both the patient and the therapist with evaluation of the current treatment and modifications needed for future therapies. Quantification of individual perceptual styles in the VE will support development of individualized treatment programs. The virtual environment can be a valuable tool for therapeutic interventions that require adaptation to complex, multimodal environments

Preliminary characterization of a Nisin Z bacteriocin with activity against the fish pathogen Streptococcus iniae

This is a preliminary characterisation of a bacteriocin, BacL49 produced by Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis. This bacteriocin is significant due to its activity against Streptococcus iniae, a bacterial pathogen causing severe economic losses in the global aquaculture of various fish. Spot-on-lawn and microtitre plate assays were used to test antagonistic activity of the bacteriocin. BacL49 is heat and pH stable (100 °C for 60min, pH 2.5-9.5), and sensitive to proteinase K, α-chymotrypsin, trypsin and papain. BacL49 has a bactericidal mode of action and is produced during late log phase growth. BacL49 exhibits a broad activity spectrum against S. iniae, antagonising 93.75% (45/48) of S. iniae isolates collected from a variety of hosts and environments. The apparent molecular masses of the active protein components determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis are 5 and 54kDa. Molecular analyses were performed to locate the genetic determinants of BacL49. PCR of chromosomal DNA successfully amplified the structural gene encoding the precursor of nisin. Subsequent analysis of nucleotide sequences of the PCR products revealed it to be identical to the nis Z structural gene of nisin Z. There is a paucity of reports examining the inhibition of S. iniae by a lactococcal bacteriocin or even L. lactis as an aquacultural probiotic. This is one of the first studies to identify nisin genes in a strain of L. lactis exhibiting activity against S. iniae. BacL49 is a candidate biocontrol agent for mitigation of this important fish pathogen

The Effect of Subjective Experiences of Regulatory Fit on Trust

Two experiments provide support for the hypothesis that when people assess how much they trust another person, feelings of rightness from an initial, brief experience of regulatory fit (consistency between prevention or promotion regulatory focus of goals and strategic means) can suggest the other person is trustworthy, relative to feelings of wrongness from regulatory nonfit. This regulatory-fit effect on trust was stronger for acquaintances than for individuals participants knew well (Experiment 1) and was eliminated by drawing participants\u27 attention to how right the earlier, trust judgment-irrelevant event made them feel (Experiment 2). Implications are discussed for regulatory-fit theory, possible applications to applied settings and to other populations, and possible effects of other type

UK Libraries\u27 Wildcat Histories: Preserving Student Activist Social Media Content

In this presentation, we describe the current web archiving program at the University of Kentucky Libraries; provide an overview of the Wildcat Histories activist student organization social media preservation project, funded by Project STAND; discuss the technical aspects of the Wildcat Histories project; and the project\u27s current status and lessons learned