Thurston obstructions for cubic branched coverings with two fixed critical points

We prove that if $F$ is a degree $3$ Thurston map with two fixed critical points, then any obstruction for $F$ contains a Levy cycle. This note is part of a study by the author investigating the mating of pairs of cubic polynomials which each have a fixed critical point.Comment: 8 page note, part of study of matings of cubic polynomials. Updated to modify statement of main theorem and clarify a remar

Promoting safer sex : an examination of agencies within the New Plymouth area providing sexual health education programmes for adolescents : a report presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Social Policy at Massey University

The aim of this report is to identify and describe community agencies in the New Plymouth District that provide sexual health and education programmes to adolescents. Sexual health education appears to reduce unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. When compared to other OECD countries, New Zealand has one of the highest adolescent birth and abortion rates. The incidence of sexually transmitted disease is also rising. Seven local organisations were identified and participated in this study. I met with representatives from five of the organisations. Two organisations responded to my questionnaire by way of written report. Six of the eight local High Schools also returned details of the sexual health and education programmes they provide to their students. A wide range of topics are discussed ranging from pubertal issues to sexual intercourse and pregnancy. Results from community organisations highlighted similarities and differences between the agencies. Course content attempts to deal with adolescent sexuality in the broad context of adolescent behaviour. Providers agreed that sexuality has to be considered within the context of issues relevant to adolescence. Therefore programmes need to contain not only sexual health information but also other issues important to adolescents such as relationship building skills and vocational goals. This report is able to be used as a resource for statutory and voluntary social services and health professionals in the New Plymouth area

Constructing rational maps with cluster points using the mating operation

In this article, we show that all admissible rational maps with fixed or period two cluster cycles can be constructed by the mating of polynomials. We also investigate the polynomials which make up the matings that construct these rational maps. In the one cluster case, one of the polynomials must be an $n$-rabbit and in the two cluster case, one of the maps must be either $f$, a "double rabbit", or $g$, a secondary map which lies in the wake of the double rabbit $f$. There is also a very simple combinatorial way of classifiying the maps which must partner the aforementioned polynomials to create rational maps with cluster cycles. Finally, we also investigate the multiplicities of the shared matings arising from the matings in the paper.Comment: 23 page

Thurston equivalence for rational maps with clusters

We investigate rational maps with period-one and period-two cluster cycles. Given the definition of a cluster, we show that, in the case where the degree is d and the cluster is fixed, the Thurston class of a rational map is fixed by the combinatorial rotation number ρ and the critical displacement δof the cluster cycle. The same result will also be proved in the case where the rational map is quadratic and has a period-two cluster cycle, and we will also show that the statement is no longer true in the higher-degree case

The creation of the European Social Work Research Association

As the social work profession matures, the need for robust knowledge becomes more pressing. Greater coordination is required to develop the research community and an infrastructure to support this nationally and internationally. This article discusses the foundation, in 2014, of the European Social Work Research Association and its roots in the annual European Conference for Social Work Research series since 2011. Discussion focuses on the Association’s context and aims, its principles, developments, and future plans. The initial development of the Association has been very encouraging; it has attracted over 250 members in its initial months, including individuals from 19 of 28 European Union countries, and 3 of 23 European non-EU countries, as well as six countries outside Europe. Continuing efforts are required to encompass the diversity of practice, organization and research, and for the Association to be truly inclusive of social work research and researchers across the whole of Europe

‘You can’t improve upon the classics, man’: Classical allusions in Tim Blake Nelson’s film Leaves of grass (2009)

In Tim Blake Nelson’s film Leaves of grass (2009), Bill Kincaid(Edward Norton), a successful professor of Classics at BrownUniversity is lured back to his native Oklahoma when he receivesword that his identical twin brother Brady (also Edward Norton) hasbeen murdered. Although he has deliberately distanced himself fromhis ‘eccentric’ family for over a decade, Bill dutifully flies home,only to find his ‘dead’ twin very much alive and planning to use Billas his alibi for a murder he and his sidekick Bolger (Tim BlakeNelson) intend to commit. While Bill has been diligently crafting hisacademic career, Brady has instead channelled his genius intogrowing marijuana hydroponically — part of the reason for thefilm’s title. Brady is in a double bind, having borrowed a substantialsum of money from a Tulsa drug-lord called Pug Rothbaum (RichardDreyfuss), and being at the same time under considerable pressure toquit the drug business, as his girlfriend is pregnant. This articleexplores the numerous allusions to ancient Greek and Latinliterature, philosophy and culture that the film’s director Tim BlakeNelson, who himself majored in Classics at Brown, has confessed toputting into almost every scene. A major focus of this ‘tonallyvaried’ film is its exploration of the interface between the two mainforms of drama derived from Ancient Greece — tragedy andcomedy

Reframing Homelessness in Vermont: A Systemic Approach to Homelessness Policy Advocacy in Windham County Vermont

The Changeworks Committee of the Groundworks Collaborative was created in 2014 to implement advocacy that would build public support for long-term policy changes addressing the root causes of homelessness in Windham County Vermont. This research focused on the work of this committee, and posed the question: How does reframing homelessness as a systemic issue instead of an individual issue impact the public perception of the problem in Windham County, Vermont? I argue that reframing perceptions of homelessness as the result of systemic failure and not as a problem of individual choice is key to building public support for solutions. Additionally, the work of the Changeworks Committee was analyzed through Shultz’s roadmap for policy, Unsicker’s policy circles, and Lakoff’s reframing model. My findings and analysis show the committee’s efforts have resulted in an increase in community collaboration, awareness of the root causes of homelessness, and the empowerment of those experiencing homelessness. Shifting away from the “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” approach towards a systemic root cause approach has allowed for a deeper, more productive public discourse on how to implement solutions in the local area

Totius and the imagery of doom and imperial destruction

The South African poet J D du Toit, popularly known as Totius (1877-1953), published collections of personal, religious and political  poetry, inspired by the struggles of the Afrikaner people after the South African War or Second Boer War (1899-1902).  Although the poet enjoyed a Classical education, firstly as a child at a German mission school, and subsequently in his Theological studies, Classical influence on Totius’ work has not been considered to date. This article investigates two poems for their possible Classical precedents. In the first, Totius considers but ultimately rejects the idea of the river Lethe as a way of forgetting his personal tragedies. In the second, he compares the disaster the Afrikaners experienced in the South African War to a roadside thorn-tree that is destroyed by a passing ox-wagon, here representing Britishimperialism. This may have a precedent in the destruction of the flower cut down by a plough at the edge of the meadow (Catullus 11.21-24), the political dimensions of which coincide with Totius’ anti-imperialist sentiments. Although the Biblical, Christian paradigm is dominant in Totius’ writing, this article suggests that the Classical world was an alternative source of inspiration for this poet