The role of the medical social worker in a polio epidemic: A study of fifty-eight cases referred to the Social Service Department of Haynes Memorial Hospital September and October, 1949

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

A decay of rights: The decision in New Health New Zealand Inc v South Taranaki District Council

The decision in New Health New Zealand Inc v South Taranaki District Council is the most recent legal development in the New Zealand debate about fluoridation of public water supplies. That decision centred on the interpretation of section 11 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, the right to refuse medical treatment. The Court held that the fluoridation in question was legal, and reached a limited definition of medical treatment that did not encompass fluoridation. This paper analyses the reasoning leading to that interpretation, concluding that the decision is problematic and that the definition of s 11 needs to be remedied. The use of the wording of s 11 to limit the definition of medical treatment was inappropriate, as was the policy reasoning used to support that limitation. The structure of reasoning followed exacerbated these issues and adhered too closely to the reasoning in United States cases. Furthermore, the application of a de minimis threshold was conducted without adequate scrutiny, and such a threshold should not be applied to s 11

Characterisation of the Superior Colliculus in a Rat Model of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioural disorder of childhood onset. Core symptoms include hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention. Despite high prevalence and effective pharmacological treatment, the pathophysiology is poorly understood. Present theories of the etiology of ADHD suggest a crucial influence of dopamine. To date, little investigation has focussed on structures upstream of dopamine neurons which could cause these abnormalities. The midbrain superior colliculus (SC) is conserved across species and plays a role in saccade generation, visual saliency and attention. Evidence suggests that the SC could be dysfunctional in ADHD, and may explain core symptoms of ADHD, providing a site for action of therapeutic treatments. The spontaneous hypertensive rat (SHR), an animal model for ADHD has shown face validity, construct validity and predictive validity, and is the most commonly used animal model of ADHD. Understanding the etiology of the ADHD-like behaviours in the SHR is important in improving our understanding of the etiology of ADHD itself. This thesis presents work that demonstrates that the SHR responds to visual and auditory stimuli in a different way behaviourally and physiologically compared to two control strains, with these differences likely to be mediated by alterations within and upstream of the SC, respectively, resulting in altered saliency of sensory stimuli. These results are compatible with the two unifying theories of ADHD, but suggest that the dysregulation of dopamine is secondary to changes upstream in the SC and structures projecting to it. The findings of slower onset latency in the SHR are also in line with ADHD and the ADHD-like behaviours seen in the SHR and support ADHD being a development disorder. ADHD treatments such as amphetamine and fluoxetine may have a mechanism of action within the SC, and therefore normalise the exaggerated response, yet the results from the current experiment on drug effects are inconclusive

The experiences of hospice nurses : an exploration of compassion and interventions to support wellbeing

The portfolio has three parts. Part one is a systematic literature review, in which empirical papers investigating the effectiveness of interventions for supporting and promoting wellbeing in palliative care staff are reviewed. A systematic database search identified 10 studies to be reviewed. A narrative synthesis of the findings related to effectiveness is provided, alongside a review of methodological quality of the research in this area. The clinical implications for healthcare services and directions for future research are also discussed. Part two is an empirical paper, which uses Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore the experiences of nurses working within hospice settings and how compassion is experienced and understood in their work. The findings are discussed in relation to theory and implications for clinical practice and recommendations for future research are considered. Part three comprises the appendices supporting the systematic literature review and the empirical paper but also includes a reflective statement focusing on the research process. Part three also includes an epistemological statement

Understanding social performance : a ‘practice drift’ at the frontline of Microfinance Institutions in Bangladesh

This article examines the role of microfinance staff and procedures in enabling microfinance's social mission. It does so primarily through studying institutional ruling relations and practices in rural Bangladesh. Attempting to move away from the linear and deterministic approaches of impact studies, it ethnographically scrutinizes the everyday practices of implementers. Findings point to the emergence of systemic practices that jeopardize microfinance institutions' potential to perform their social mission. These include low client-selection standards, hard selling of loans and forceful loan renewal, little follow-up on loan use, and abusive and violent client-retention and repayment-collection strategies. This is conceptualized as a 'practice drift' as distinct from the commonly reported 'mission drift'. Rather than stemming from planned, top-down changes in institutional mission and strategy, practice drift emerges from a displacement of decision-making processes to the branches. The article argues that observed changes in microfinance practice are enabled by decentralized structures and management systems that leave the choice of tactics used to achieve targets to the discretion of field staff

Poems

Poems include: Days , by Martha Rose Scott and Blemish , by Louise Garrigu