Bryophyte floras of tropical Pacific islands

A review of the status of bryological research in each of the nations, states or governmental units of southern Melanesia, Micronesia and tropical Polynesia shows the imperfect state of knowledge about the Pacific tropical islands. Best known overall are Hawaii and Micronesia with Wallis and Futuna, the Marquesas and the high mountains of Fiji seeming to be the least known potentially species rich areas. Involvement of residents from Pacific islands in botanical study and preservation of ecosystems should be encouraged by tropical bryologists

Introduction to the themed issue - Corporate power : agency, communication, influence and social policy

This paper introduces this themed issue of Critical Social Policy on the question of corporate power. Corporate power is recognized as an important agent in social policy making and delivery. However, to date there has been comparatively little attention to the crucial role that lobbying and corporate 'spin' play in helping to shape policy making contexts. This special issue of Critical Social Policy is concerned to bring such issues to the mainstream of social policy analysis. It is argued here that the rise of spin and public relations is a key feature of neoliberalism in the past two decades. These have worked to reshape policy making, resulting in pronounced changes in the content and process of policy making and it is argued that these have tended to marginalize or undermine democratic processes

Exposing athletes to playing form activity: outcomes of a randomised control trial among community netball teams using a game-centred approach.

This study evaluated whether exposing junior netball players to greater amounts of competition relevant activity (playing form activity) had an effect on game play outcomes and session involvement. A group-randomised controlled trial in one junior netball club in the Hunter Region, NSW, Australia. Ninety female athletes (mean age = 9.04 years, SD 1.53) were randomised by team (n = 11) into the intervention (n = 41) or 9-week wait-list control (n = 49) condition. The Professional Learning for Understanding Games Education into Sport (PLUNGE into Sport) programme was undertaken in the first half of nine training sessions (9 × 30 min). The intervention exposed athletes to playing form activity through a coach development programme within training sessions. Athletes' decision-making, support and skill outcomes during a small-sided invasion game, and session involvement (pedometer step/min), were measured at baseline and 9-week follow-up. Linear mixed models revealed significant group-by-time intervention effects (P < 0.05) for decision-making (d = 0.4) and support (d = 0.5) during game play, and in-session activity (d = 1.2). An intervention exposing athletes to greater levels of playing form activity, delivered via a coach education programme, was efficacious in improving athlete decision-making and support skills in game play and increasing athlete involvement during sessions

Evaluation of the Kent Serious Youth Violence Project

This report summarises the findings in relation to the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness over a period of two years and began in September 2020

Opioid Overdoses Among High-Risk Medicaid Members: Healthcare Cost, Service Utilization, and Risk Factor Analysis

Research Objective: Identify risk factors associated with opioid overdoses among three high-risk populations of Medicaid members related to cost and service utilization. Study Design: Repeated cross-sectional study using five years of Massachusetts Medicaid (MassHealth) claims and state agency data. Population Studied: MassHealth members aged 11-64 years considered to be high-risk (homeless, unstably housed, and/or criminal justice-involved) and in need of support services, especially those with extensive behavioral health (BH) needs. These three populations were identified as being particularly vulnerable to non-fatal and/or fatal opioid overdoses. Principal Findings: MassHealth members who were both justice-involved and unstably housed were at much higher risk of an opioid overdose than the MassHealth population overall, especially those with a substance use disorder (SUD) or a serious mental illness (SMI). Experiencing both homelessness and justice involvement substantially compounded members’ non-fatal overdose risk, regardless of BH diagnosis. Co-occurring SUD/SMI was a key driver of high overdose prevalence, particularly among the justice-involved. Compared to MassHealth members in general, those with justice involvement and unstable housing had costs that were 50-65% higher; members who experienced homelessness had triple the costs. Healthcare service use both before and after an overdose was relatively low, including the timeframe between multiple non-fatal overdoses. In multivariate analyses, all three high-risk factors (i.e., populations) were significantly related to an increased opioid overdose risk after controlling for additional risk factors (BH diagnoses, chronic medical conditions, and demographic characteristics). Males and whites were more likely to have an opioid overdose; those with diabetes or hypertension were less likely. These results were similar when assessing various opioid overdose outcomes (non-fatal and/or fatal). Conclusions: These findings helped inform MassHealth’s understanding of its members’ experiences regarding medical and BH services, especially among high-risk populations with an opioid overdose. The identification of risk factors most predictive of a subsequent overdose may help address the needs of these high-risk groups. For most of the populations studied, prevalence of co-occurring BH diagnoses was much higher than MassHealth members in general and appeared to impact opioid overdose rates. Most members received services for 1-2 months in both the pre- and post-overdose periods; service use was relatively low in the year following a non-fatal overdose, suggesting retention was also low. Multivariate analyses consistently showed that gender and race were significantly associated with increased overdose risk. Implications for Policy or Practice: Understanding opioid overdose risk factors and identifying service utilization gaps and missed opportunities are important. As payment reforms evolve under the umbrella of accountable care organizations, BH community partnership models are key for collaborating with healthcare and social service providers, and community resources for care management, care coordination, and referrals to support services. Our study initially developed an in-depth descriptive analysis of individuals with SUD, SMI, or both identified as being at high risk for an opioid overdose. Understanding service trajectory and outcomes through additional analyses was critical for planning and prioritizing appropriate services. As payors are actively making decisions about effective systems of care, they are particularly interested in understanding the need for community-based and residential services, particularly for those with housing instability and/or criminal justice involvement

How much laser power can propagate through fusion plasma?

Propagation of intense laser beams is crucial for inertial confinement fusion, which requires precise beam control to achieve the compression and heating necessary to ignite the fusion reaction. The National Ignition Facility (NIF), where fusion will be attempted, is now under construction. Control of intense beam propagation may be ruined by laser beam self-focusing. We have identified the maximum laser beam power that can propagate through fusion plasma without significant self-focusing and have found excellent agreement with recent experimental data, and suggest a way to increase that maximum by appropriate choice of plasma composition with implication for NIF designs. Our theory also leads to the prediction of anti-correlation between beam spray and backscatter and suggests the indirect control of backscatter through manipulation of plasma ionization state or acoustic damping.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusio

Relationships between Larval and Juvenile Abundance of Winter-Spawned Fishes in North Carolina, USA

We analyzed the relationships between the larval and juvenile abundances of selected estuarine-dependent fishes that spawn during the winter in continental shelf waters of the U.S. Atlantic coast. Six species were included in the analysis based on their ecological and economic importance and relative abundance in available surveys: spot Leiostomus xanthurus, pinfish Lagodon rhomboides, southern flounder Paralichthys lethostigma, summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus, Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus, and Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus. Cross-correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between the larval and juvenile abundances within species. Tests of synchrony across species were used to find similarities in recruitment dynamics for species with similar winter shelf-spawning life-history strategies. Positive correlations were found between the larval and juvenile abundances for three of the six selected species (spot, pinfish, and southern flounder). These three species have similar geographic ranges that primarily lie south of Cape Hatteras. There were no significant correlations between the larval and juvenile abundances for the other three species (summer flounder, Atlantic croaker, and Atlantic menhaden); we suggest several factors that could account for the lack of a relationship. Synchrony was found among the three southern species within both the larval and juvenile abundance time series. These results provide support for using larval ingress measures as indices of abundance for these and other species with similar geographic ranges and winter shelf-spawning life-history strategies

Ariel - Volume 4 Number 3

Editors David A. Jacoby Eugenia Miller Tom Williams Associate Editors Paul Bialas Terry Burt Michael Leo Gail Tenikat Editor Emeritus and Business Manager Richard J. Bonnano Movie Editor Robert Breckenridge Staff Richard Blutstein Mary F. Buechler Steve Glinks Len Grasman Alice M. Johnson J.D. Kanofsky Tom Lehman Dave Mayer Bernie Odd

Beyond 'Global Production Networks': Australian Fashion Week's Trans-Sectoral Synergies

When studies of industrial organisation are informed by commodity chain, actor network, or global production network theories and focus on tracing commodity flows, social networks, or a combination of the two, they can easily overlook the less routine trans-sectoral associations that are crucial to the creation and realisation of value. This paper shifts attention to identifying the sites at which diverse specialisations meet to concentrate and amplify mutually reinforcing circuits of value. These valorisation processes are demonstrated in the case of Australian Fashion Week, an event in which multiple interests converge to synchronize different expressions of fashion ideas, actively construct fashion markets and enhance the value of a diverse range of fashionable commodities. Conceptualising these interconnected industries as components of a trans-sectoral fashion complex has implications for understanding regional development, world cities, production location, and the manner in which production systems “touch down” in different places