Interpretation Through Oral History In The Susitna River Basin

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 198

Gender, legitimacy and the local: a study of elected and unelected political representation

This thesis is concerned with gender and legitimacy in political representation. This work contributes to the field of politics and gender, through an in-depth examination of political representation at the local level which is under-researched. The study focuses on elected and unelected local representatives, in a study site where elected women have achieved ‘gender balance’, as in equal numerical representation (50% of the seats) at council level. It analyses their experiences and perspectives, and those of their peers (elected men, and unelected women) in order to identify gender dimensions and explore the concept of legitimacy. It is based on original qualitative data collected using semi-structured interviews with elected and unelected representatives, at the local level. Secondary data collection has been used to supplement the interview data. The research finds that the legitimacy of unelected and elected women in representative positions at the local level is contested; that gender is a factor in the relationships between the representatives and the represented; and that there are gender dimensions which affect the representational work of both elected and unelected women. It also finds that there are dynamic inter-connections between elected and unelected women which enable the representatives to better navigate the complex ‘geometry of representation’ at the local level. The research is important because it contributes to current debates regarding the legitimacy of women as both elected and non-elected representatives, and because it sheds light on gendered dimensions of local level political representation, at a time when ‘gender balance’ and the legitimacy of women in public life, are of contemporary interest

The use of colloquial words in advanced French interlanguage

This article addresses the issue of underrepresentation or avoidance of colloquial words in a cross-sectional corpus of advanced French interlanguage (IL) of 29 Dutch L1 speakers and in a longitudinal corpus of 6 Hiberno-Irish English L1 speakers compared with a control of 6 native speakers of French. The main independent variable analysed in the latter corpus is the effect of spending a year in a francophone environment. This analysis is supplemented by a separate study of sociobiographical and psychological factors that affect the use of colloquial vocabulary in the cross-sectional corpus. Colloquial words are not exceptionally complex morphologically and present no specific grammatical difficulties, yet they are very rare in our data. Multivariate regression analyses suggest that only active authentic communication in the target language (TL) predicts the use of colloquial lexemes in the cross-sectional corpus. This result was confirmed in the longitudinal corpus where a t-test showed that the proportion of colloquial lexemes increased significantly after a year abroad

The Pacific Research Colloquium: Strengthening Skills and Partnerships with Pacific Researchers

For almost a decade the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program (SSGM) at the Australian National University (ANU) has had the privilege of convening the annual Pacific Research Colloquium (PRC). With funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), scholarships are awarded to early career researchers from the Pacific, including Papua and Timor-Leste, to participate in intensive training in social science research methods at the ANU.AusAI

A Midwestern Academic HIV Clinic Operation during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implementation Strategy and Preliminary Outcomes

During the COVID-19 pandemic, HIV clinics had to transform care delivery for people with HIV (PWH). We developed a multifaceted telehealth implementation strategy and monitored number of out of care patients (OOC), medical visit frequency (MVF), gap in care (GiC) and viral suppression (VS), and compared measures to baseline data. Between April and October 2020, 1559 visits were scheduled; 328 (21%) were missed, and 63 (4%) were new to care. Of the remaining 1168 follow-up visits, 412 (35%) were telehealth visits. As of October 2020, there were 53 patients OOC, MVF was 55% and GiC was 24% compared to 34, 69% and 14% at baseline, respectively. Overall VS rate remained high at 93% (97% for telehealth and 91% for in-person visits, p = 0.0001). Our implementation strategy facilitated quick provision of telehealth to a third of PWH receiving care in our clinic. While MVF decreased and GiC increased, VS rates remained high

Woman's essential "nature" : a classical, communitarian gender mythology

This thesis argues that women do not share an essential 'nature'. Further, if it could be shown that women do share an essential 'nature', the consequences would be undesirable. Although mainstream philosophy has largely abandoned nature theories, I will show that certain branches of feminist theory retain the notion of an essential 'woman's nature' that cannot be ignored, transcended, or eliminated without destroying the distinctive character of women. To claim that women share a different 'nature' than that shared by men is to invoke a particular chain of reasoning derived not from science (for judgements of significance and ontological sameness are not amenable to scientific investigation) but from the heuristic classical, communitarian world view. Whether the notion of a distinct 'woman's nature' is accepted or rejected, this decision results in a pragmatic orientation toward women, their roles, and their potential that has a direct effect on the educational methodologies, curricula, and environment seen as appropriate to them. The thesis serves as a counterpoise to the prevailing communitarian thread in cultural feminist theory that rejects the liberal individualist premises of liberal feminism

Measures to address poverty traps caused by Income Maintenance Periods and Compensation Preclusion Periods

This report commissioned by National Welfare Rights Network

Distance-based training in two community health centers to address tobacco smoke exposure of children

BACKGROUND: The CEASE (Clinical Effort Against Secondhand Smoke Exposure) intervention was developed to help pediatricians routinely and effectively address the harms of family smoking behaviors. Based on paper versions of CEASE, we partnered with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ online education department and developed a completely distance-based training, including an online CME training, handouts and education materials for families, and phone and email support. METHODS: The pediatric offices of two low income health clinics with primarily Medicaid populations were selected for the study. Pre and post intervention data by survey of the parents was collected in both practices (Practice 1 n = 470; Practice 2 n = 177). The primary outcome for this study was a comparison of rates of clinician’s asking and advising parents about smoking and smoke-free home and cars. RESULTS: Exit surveys of parents revealed statistically significant increases in rates of clinicians asking about parental smoking (22% vs. 41%), smoke-free rules (25% vs. 44%), and asking about other smoking household members (26% vs. 48%). CONCLUSIONS: Through a completely distance based intervention, we were able to train pediatricians who see low income children to ask parents about smoking, smoke-free home and car rules, and whether other household members smoke. Implementing a system to routinely ask about family tobacco use and smoke-free home and car rules is a first step to effectively addressing tobacco in a pediatric office setting. By knowing which family members use tobacco, pediatricians can take the next steps to help families become completely tobacco-free. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical trials number: NCT0108717

The "ART" of Linkage: Pre-Treatment Loss to Care after HIV Diagnosis at Two PEPFAR Sites in Durban, South Africa

BACKGROUND. Although loss to follow-up after antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation is increasingly recognized, little is known about pre-treatment losses to care (PTLC) after an initial positive HIV test. Our objective was to determine PTLC in newly identified HIV-infected individuals in South Africa. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS. We assembled the South African Test, Identify and Link (STIAL) Cohort of persons presenting for HIV testing at two sites offering HIV and CD4 count testing and HIV care in Durban, South Africa. We defined PTLC as failure to have a CD4 count within 8 weeks of HIV diagnosis. We performed multivariate analysis to identify factors associated with PTLC. From November 2006 to May 2007, of 712 persons who underwent HIV testing and received their test result, 454 (64%) were HIV-positive. Of those, 206 (45%) had PTLC. Infected patients were significantly more likely to have PTLC if they lived =10 kilometers from the testing center (RR=1.37; 95% CI: 1.11-1.71), had a history of tuberculosis treatment (RR=1.26; 95% CI: 1.00-1.58), or were referred for testing by a health care provider rather than self-referred (RR=1.61; 95% CI: 1.22-2.13). Patients with one, two or three of these risks for PTLC were 1.88, 2.50 and 3.84 times more likely to have PTLC compared to those with no risk factors. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE. Nearly half of HIV-infected persons at two high prevalence sites in Durban, South Africa, failed to have CD4 counts following HIV diagnosis. These high rates of pre-treatment loss to care highlight the urgent need to improve rates of linkage to HIV care after an initial positive HIV test.US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R01 AI058736, K24 AI062476, K23 AI068458); the Harvard University Center for AIDS Research (P30 AI42851); National Institutes of Health (K24 AR 02123); the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (Clinical Scientist Development Award); the Harvard University Program on AID