New Zealand Working For Families programme: Literature review of evaluation evidence

In 2005, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) commissioned research to review international evaluation methodology and literature to help in the preparation of evaluation of the Working for Families (WFF) policy, introduced in 2004 to assist working low- and middle-income families in New Zealand. The results of the study are in two parts: Working for Families: Methodological considerations in evaluating the programme and Working for Families: Literature review of evaluation evidence. This first part, the literature review, reviews international literature, comparing the economic impact of WFF with those of welfare reforms elsewhere. It introduces the central issues within the New Zealand and WFF context using a combination of cross-national comparisons and an intensive country or programme literature review. This provides a good balance between depth and coverage and enables a consistent method of review. Research findings are aimed at government social researchers and will enable evaluation to be carried out on WFF based on a sound understanding of current international evidence and benchmarking.

New Zealand Working For Families programme: Methodological considerations for evaluating MSD programmes

The methodological review is the second part of the evaluation research commissioned by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) in 2005 to help in the preparation of the evaluation of the Working for Families (WFF) programme. This review enumerates the key evaluation questions identified by MSD as central to their policy concerns and considers how the features of WFF could affect evaluation. It details the methodological and data requirements that must be addressed in order to meet the four key evaluation objectives, namely: (1) tracking and evaluating the implementation and delivery of WFF (2) identifying changes in entitlement take-up and reasons for it (3) establishing the impact of WFF on employment-related outcomes (4) assessing WFF’s effect on net income and quality of life more generally. The methodological review complements the literature review by reviewing evaluations from around the world that are pertinent to WFF. An overview of evaluation methods is provided, concentrating on particular issues that arise within the WFF context. Section 2 focuses on implementation and delivery. Section 3 covers the issues related to take-up and entitlement and their evaluation. Section 4 discusses the evaluation methodologies that can be used in evaluating programmes such as WFF and introduces the data requirements they entail. Making work pay is the focus of section 5. Finally, section 6 examines hardship and poverty, living standards and wellbeing.

STATIC AND DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPOSITE ONE·PIECE HOCKEY STICKS

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the differE:nces in slatic and dynamic characteristics of one-piece composite hockey sticks of different brands and models. Earlier studies had only evaluated two-pieces sticks of different materials. Even if some static results present many similarities with those disclosed by earlier researchers, torsion tests have demonstrated one-piece composite sticks to be much more torsion resistant than two-pieces and wooden sticks. Furthermore, dynamic evaluations have disclosed very interesting puck-blade interactions, including multiple puck-blade impacts in actual slap shot situations

Converging roads: the latest science from the 2017 IAS HIV Cure and Cancer Forum

Conference presented in the 2017 IAS HIV Cure and Cancer Forum took place in Paris on 22–23 July.S

High-intensity drinking in adult Australian twins

Background: Many adult drinkers consume far beyond the binge threshold. This “high-intensity drinking” (HID), defined as 2 (HID-2) and 3 (HID-3) times the binge threshold, is of public health interest due to its role in acute alcohol-related harms. Research on HID has mostly been limited to college-aged young adults, focused on contextual factors, and neglected the potential role of genetic influences on the propensity to engage in HID. Methods: Structured diagnostic interviews assessing past-year alcohol involvement were conducted with 3,785 individuals (1,365 men, 2,420 women; Mage = 32, range = 21 to 46), including 3,314 twins and 471 nontwin siblings from the Australian Twin Registry. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare HID-2 and HID-3 to binge drinking on demographic correlates, drinking characteristics, and drinking-related consequences. Biometric modeling was conducted to estimate the role of genetic, common, and individual-specific environmental factors in HID propensity. Results: Among past-year drinkers, the prevalence of HID-2 and HID-3 was both 22%, with men disproportionally represented. The frequencies of drinking, intoxication, and binge drinking significantly increased across the heavier drinking categories, which also evidenced higher average consumption quantities and higher rates of alcohol-related consequences. The propensity to engage in HID was significantly heritable (A = 37% [95% CI: 28 to 46%]), with individual-specific environmental influences accounting for the remainder of the variance. Conclusions: This study convincingly demonstrates that HID is not restricted to college-aged young adults, but also can be highly prevalent among those of working age, and that the propensity to engage in HID is partially explained by genetic influences. © 2020 by the Research Society on Alcoholis

Cross-sectional examination of sluggish cognitive tempo, ADHD-inattentive symptoms, and mental health diagnoses in college students

This cross-sectional study examines the association between sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT), ADHD inattentive symptoms, depression, trauma, and anxiety in college students. To date, limited research has examined SCT and internalizing constructs in college students. We expect to collect self-report data from 100 participants. Data will include SCT, ADHD inattention, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), depression, and anxiety. Bivariate correlations will be examined. All significantly associated variables at the bivariate level will be entered into a regression analysis to examine how SCT is associated with these constructs together. Significant associations would suggest a need to re-evaluate the assessment of SCT

Role of subtyping in detecting Salmonella cross contamination in the laboratory

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>With the exception of <it>M. tuberculosis</it>, little has been published on the problems of cross-contamination in bacteriology laboratories. We performed a retrospective analysis of subtyping data from the National <it>Salmonella </it>Reference Laboratory (Ireland) from 2000–2007 to identify likely incidents of laboratory cross contamination.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Serotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on all <it>Salmonella </it>isolates received in the NSRL. Phage typing was performed on all <it>S</it>. Typhimurium and <it>S</it>. Enteritidis isolates while multi-locus variance analysis (MLVA) was performed on selected <it>S</it>. Typhimurium isolates. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using the PulseNet standard protocol was performed on selected isolates of various serovars.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty-three incidents involving fifty-six isolates were identified as likely to represent cross contamination. The probable sources of contamination identified were the laboratory positive control isolate (n = 13), other test isolates (n = 9) or proficiency test samples (n = 1).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The scale of laboratory cross-contamination in bacteriology is most likely under recognized. Testing laboratories should be aware of the potential for cross-contamination, regularly review protocols to minimize its occurrence and consider it as a possibility when unexpected results are obtained.</p

Education in Cross-Cultural Settings: Psychological Underpinnings of Achievement in Papua New Guinea

Education and achievement in Papua New Guinea has received minimal attention in the psychological and educational literature. Although student motivation and achievement have been investigated in a large variety of cultures throughout the world, this has not been substantially extended to the developing world. The current study investigated a selection of psychological processes that contribute to student achievement in the context of a majority, indigenous and developing culture. Motivational goal orientations, learning and self-regulatory processes of 359 students from Papua New Guinea (PNG) were investigated. Structural equation modeling investigated the relations between the psychological variables. Results are discussed in the context of McInerney’s (2007) model of student achievement in cross-cultural settings

Strategies for Enriching Variant Coverage in Candidate Disease Loci on a Multiethnic Genotyping Array

Investigating genetic architecture of complex traits in ancestrally diverse populations is imperative to understand the etiology of disease. However, the current paucity of genetic research in people of African and Latin American ancestry, Hispanic and indigenous peoples in the United States is likely to exacerbate existing health disparities for many common diseases. The Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology, Phase II (PAGE II), Study was initiated in 2013 by the National Human Genome Research Institute to expand our understanding of complex trait loci in ethnically diverse and well characterized study populations. To meet this goal, the Multi-Ethnic Genotyping Array (MEGA) was designed to substantially improve fine-mapping and functional discovery by increasing variant coverage across multiple ethnicities at known loci for metabolic, cardiovascular, renal, inflammatory, anthropometric, and a variety of lifestyle traits. Studying the frequency distribution of clinically relevant mutations, putative risk alleles, and known functional variants across multiple populations will provide important insight into the genetic architecture of complex diseases and facilitate the discovery of novel, sometimes population-specific, disease associations. DNA samples from 51,650 self-identified African ancestry (17,328), Hispanic/Latino (22,379), Asian/Pacific Islander (8,640), and American Indian (653) and an additional 2,650 participants of either South Asian or European ancestry, and other reference panels have been genotyped on MEGA by PAGE II. MEGA was designed as a new resource for studying ancestrally diverse populations. Here, we describe the methodology for selecting trait-specific content for use in multi-ethnic populations and how enriching MEGA for this content may contribute to deeper biological understanding of the genetic etiology of complex disease

An investigation into artefacts formed during gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of firearms propellant that contains diphenylamine as the stabiliser

This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This author accepted manuscript is made available following 12 month embargo from date of publication (August 2017) in accordance with the publisher’s archiving policyIn the course of providing assistance to legal counsel in a matter that involved the analysis of firearms propellant by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry it was noticed that phenoxazine was reported as a component of 0.22 calibre propellant that contained diphenylamine as the stabiliser. The research was conducted to find how phenoxazine was formed. The results showed that the compound was not phenoxazine but a diphenylamine derivative 4-(phenylimino) cyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-one that formed in the injection port of the gas chromatograph. In addition a second artefact was found to form in the ion source of the mass spectrometer. While the presence of the artefacts does not affect the ability to identify particles as propellant they may impact on comparison with source ammunition