Ubiquitous systems and the family: Thoughts about the networked home

Developments in ubiquitous and pervasive computing herald a future in which computation is embedded into our daily lives. Such a vision raises important questions about how people, especially families, will be able to engage with and trust such systems whilst maintaining privacy and individual boundaries. To begin to address such issues, we have recently conducted a wide reaching study eliciting trust, privacy and identity concerns about pervasive computing. Over three hundred UK citizens participated in 38 focus groups. The groups were shown Videotaped Activity Scenarios [11] depicting pervasive or ubiquitous computing applications in a number of contexts including shopping. The data raises a number of important issues from a family perspective in terms of access, control, responsibility, benefit and complexity. Also findings highlight the conflict between increased functionality and the subtle social interactions that sustain family bonds. We present a Pre-Concept Evaluation Tool (PRECET) for use in design and implementation of ubicomp systems

Misreporting Fundraising: How do Nonprofit Organizations Account for Telemarketing Campaigns?

The purpose of this study is to examine the frequency, determinants and implications of misreporting fundraising activities. We compare state telemarketing campaign reports with the associated information from nonprofits annual Form 990 filings to directly test nonprofits revenue and expense recognition policies. Our study indicates that smaller nonprofits, and those with less accounting sophistication, are more likely to inappropriately report telemarketing costs as a component of net revenues rather than as expenses. In addition, less monitored firms are more likely to report telemarketing campaign revenues net of expenses. Additionally, among those firms that do report telemarketing costs as expenses, we find that smaller firms, and those with relatively less officer compensation, are more likely to allocate telemarketing expenses to non-fundraising expense categories.This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 37. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers

Factors associated with pregnancy and STI among Aboriginal students in British Columbia.

BACKGROUND: Aboriginal adolescents are more likely to become pregnant and contract an STI than other Canadian adolescents. This study provides some of the first data on factors associated with these outcomes among Aboriginal adolescents. METHODS: A secondary analysis was conducted using 2003 data from a large cross-sectional survey of British Columbia secondary school students. 445 young women and 360 young men who identified as Aboriginal and reported ever having sex were included in analyses. Associations between self-reported pregnancy and STI and 11 exposure variables were examined using logistic regression. RESULTS: Of young women, 10.6% reported a pregnancy; 10.5% of young men reported causing a pregnancy. An STI diagnosis was reported by 4.2% of young women and 3.9% of young men. In multivariate analyses for young men, ever having been sexually abused was the strongest consistent risk factor for causing a pregnancy (AOR = 4.30, 95% CI 1.64-11.25) and STI diagnosis (AOR = 5.58, 95% CI 1.61-19.37). For young women, abuse was associated with increased odds of pregnancy (AOR = 10.37, 95% CI 4.04-26.60) but not STI. Among young women, substance use was the strongest consistent risk factor for both pregnancy (AOR = 3.36, 95% CI 1.25-9.08) and STI (AOR = 5.27, 95% CI 1.50-18.42); for young men, substance use was associated with higher odds of STI (AOR = 4.60, 95% CI 1.11-19.14). Factors associated with decreased risk included community, school and family involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Health care professionals, communities and policy-makers must urgently address sexual abuse and substance use. Exploring promotion of school and community involvement and family cohesion may be useful for sexual health interventions with Aboriginal students

Getting Started With Market Research for Out-of-School Time Planning: A Resource Guide for Communities

Shows community leaders, policymakers, and out-of-school-time practitioners how to use market research to make more informed programming and planning decisions

Investigations Into the Pathogenesis of Acute Equine Laminitis.

A profound decrease in perfusion of the laminar capillaries has been documented during acute equine laminitis, resulting in ischemia of the laminar tissue. Oxygen radicals are believed to mediate ischemia/reperfusion injury. The effects of (1) three hours of surgical ligation of the major blood supply of the equine digit followed by ligature release, (2) resection of the medial and lateral palmar digital arteries, and (3) digital intraarterial infusions of an oxygen radical generating system, were investigated. Laminitis was not induced by any of these manipulations. Clinical signs and alterations in hemograms observed following these procedures are reported. Preliminary identification of xanthine oxidase and superoxide dismutase activities in laminar tissue is described. Due to similarities in physiologic alterations and histopathologic lesions, laminitis has been described as the manifestation of a Shwartzman reaction. The effects of palmar digital intraarterial infusions of E. coli endotoxin followed in 24 hours by jugular vein infusion of the same endotoxin were investigated. Clinical signs and alterations in hemograms were consistent with the known effects of endotoxin in the horse. Laminitis did not develop. Exposure to black walnut (Juglans nigra) trees or shavings has been associated with the development of laminitis in the horse. Experimentally, laminitis may be consistently induced by the intragastric administration of an aqueous extract of black walnut heartwood. The laminogenic agent in black walnut has not been reported. In the present study the partial characterization of black walnut heartwood extracts was accomplished by gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric methods. Subsequently, identified components of the extracts were individually administered to horses, as were various crude fractions obtained from pH fractionations and precipitations of black walnut heartwood extracts. The clinical effects and laminogenic potentials of each is reported

Biidaaban: First Light

Biidaaban: First Light is a short room-scale virtual reality (VR) experience that places the user in a future Toronto, set in and around Nathan Phillips Square. It projects a possible future where nature has begun to reclaim the city and where humans are living in keeping with the knowledge systems of the original people of the territory, the Wendat, Anishinaabe (Ojibway), and Kanyenkeha (Mohawk), as marked by their spoken languages which also appear as text, in their original form and as English or French translations. The current structures of commerce, politics and technology/transport and the Euro-Western ideologies that underlie our society are replaced by sustainable ways of living and the cultural understandings and knowledge systems of the peoples Indigenous to this place. The piece is concrete and poetic, using both practical imagery and metaphorical symbol to communicate a worldview that is rooted in Indigenous thought and accessible to any user, while offering added meaning to those who are familiar with the languages and thought systems of the original people of this land

The effect of metals on growth, reproduction and attachment of zoosporic true fungi

Zoosporic fungi (chytrids) are common within soils. Chytrids contribute to the soil carbon cycle by converting complex carbohydrates to more accessible forms and are also important in biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen and sulphur. However, the roles of chytrids in many soil processes, and their responses to environmental stress, are not well understood. In order to explore the response of chytrids to temperature stress, here we initially examine the effect of increased temperature on chytrid isolates from different geographic and climatic regions. Isolates of Gaertneriomyces semiglobifer from different regions grow at similar rates and have similar patterns of zoospore production at different temperatures. This data allows prediction of the distribution, growth and abundance of the fungus and potential changes due to the effects of climate change. We then examine the effect of the toxic metals Cu (ll), Pb (ll) and Zn (ll) on growth, zoospore production and attachment of chytrids to common organic substrates. The four isolates, representing four orders within the phylum Chytridiomycota, showed greatest sensitivity in growth, attachment and zoospore production in response to Cu (ll) and least sensitivity to Pb (ll). Interestingly, some metals also caused increases in growth, zoospore production and attachment below the toxic threshold concentrations. In particular, Rhizophlyctis rosea increased the number and length of rhizoids when incubated with Pb (ll). Chytrids are known to be widespread and common throughout soils world-wide. Our work allows us to predict that the levels of Cu (ll), Pb (ll) and Zn (ll), found here to be toxic, will be detrimental to soil chytrid populations and reduce colonisation of organic substrates. Toxic effects of metals on the lifecycle of chytrids are expected to reduce the rate of mineralisation of soil organic matter, thereby reducing nutrient availability for the soil microbial loop, to the detriment of ecological function in soils