Marginal Women Unite! Organizing the DisAbled Womens Network in Canada

This paper discusses the Disabled Women\u27s Network\u27s (DAWN) history, issues, goals, structure, organizing tactics and ongoing problems. DAWN is an example of the ability of oppressed people to organize and advocate for their rights against overwhelming odds

Poster Introductions III--Aging with Long-Term Physical Impairment: The Significance of Social Support

As the population ages more people are reaching old age having lived with a long-term physical impairment. This vulnerable group of people has specific needs that are often different from those of someone who reaches old age without a pre-existing physical impairment. This paper focuses on the significance of social support in ameliorating the aging experience when living with long-term physical impairment. It is based on a qualitative study of the aging experiences of eight men and women living in Ontario, Canada who were between the ages of 50 and 68 and had lived with their physical impairment for more than 10 years. Two participants had impairments on account of multiple sclerosis, two on account of rheumatoid arthritis, one had loss of limb, one had muscular dystrophy, one had hip deterioration from age 12, and one had polycystic kidney disease. Data were gathered through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that coping with long-term physical impairment may be a lonely experience when the person lacks a strong network of family and/or friends to offer emotional support as they deal with the constant changes that can occur. Participants felt their experiences of aging with long-term physical impairment were improved when they shared their thoughts, feelings and problems with others. The paper also discusses the significance of gender and marital status with regard to access to social support. Rebecca Casey is a PhD candidate in Sociology at McMaster University. Her research interests include aging, disability, health and policies. Her MA thesis, at Lakehead University, focused on the experience of aging with long-term physical impairment. The poster presentation is based on this research. Rebecca’s PhD dissertation will use data collected through the Research Action Alliance on the Consequences of Work Injury (RAACWI), to focus on poverty and to relate it to aging concerns, such as loss of pensions through employment changes, reduced income following an injury and lack of employment opportunities due to reduced physical abilities. Sharon Dale Stone is Professor of Sociology at Lakehead University, where she is also affiliated with the Women’s Studies, Gerontology, and Masters of Public Health programs. Her research focuses on experiences of living with chronic impairments and issues that arise as a result. She recently published A Change of Plans: Women’s Stories of Hemorrhagic Stroke (2007) and is writing an analysis of the experiences of women who survived a hemorrhagic stroke at a young age. She is currently working with a team of academic researchers and community activists to investigate the experiences of injured workers with the worker’s compensation system

Real-time National Accounts Data

Quarterly national accounts data are amongst the most important and eagerly awaited economic information available, with estimates of recent growth regarded as a key summary indicator of the current health of the Australian economy. Official estimates of quarterly output are, however, subject to uncertainty and subsequent revision. Hence, the official estimates of quarterly national accounts aggregates, with which policy-makers must work, may in practice be an inaccurate guide to their ‘true’ values, not just initially but even for some time after the event. In this paper we examine over 120 vintages of Australian GDP data to provide an historical assessment of the scale and persistence of real-time errors in the measurement of actual output. The issue of whether it is possible to obtain reliable real-time estimates of the output gap is addressed in detail in a companion paper (Gruen, Robinson and Stone 2002).Australia, monetary policy, real-time data

Reduced Reproductive Success of Gray Catbirds in Western Woodland Habitats Dominated by Edge

In the western United States, relatively few studies have comprehensively examined songbird performance in fragmented habitat, particularly within naturally fragmented systems. For this study, we compared territory density and breeding success of Gray Catbirds (Dumetella carolinensis) from 2014-2016 in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana, between two woodland habitat types: floodplains and naturally fragmented draws. These two habitats fell within the same human-modified landscape, abutting mixed-use grasslands. Yet, they differed in configuration or their spatial distribution. When compared to floodplain birds, results showed that draw birds had larger territories, lower daily nest survival rates, delayed nest initiation patterns and reduced fledgling success. We also collected vegetation data around nests to see if this was a potential mechanism driving the differences across habitat types. We found the percentage of down woody debris and mid-shrub canopy cover were significantly higher in draws than in floodplains. However, neither vegetation variable significantly influenced catbirds’ daily nest survival rates. This excluded local vegetation as the driving mechanism behind differences and provided evidence toward configuration. Draws, as thin strips of corridor habitat, contain high amounts of edge and this configuration could lead to an increase in documented “edge effects”. Our results corroborate studies in the eastern U.S. which have shown negative impacts from high edge prevalence on songbird reproduction. Overall, this study’s results can assist managers in understanding that increasing the amount of edge habitat in human-altered landscapes could have negative consequences on songbird reproductive success

Psychoeducational interventions in adolescent depression: A systematic review

Background: Adolescent depression is common and leads to distress and impairment for individuals/families. Treatment/prevention guidelines stress the need for good information and evidence-based psychosocial interventions. There has been growing interest in psychoeducational interventions (PIs), which broadly deliver accurate information about health issues and self-management. Objective, methods: Systematic search of targeted PIs as part of prevention/management approaches for adolescent depression. Searches were undertaken independently in PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, guidelines, reviews (including Cochrane), and reference lists. Key authors were contacted. No restrictions regarding publishing dates. Results: Fifteen studies were included: seven targeted adolescents with depression/depressive symptoms, eight targeted adolescents ‘at risk' e.g. with a family history of depression. Most involved family/group programmes; others included individual, school-based and online approaches. PIs may affect understanding of depression, identification of symptoms, communication, engagement, and mental health outcomes. Conclusion, practice implications: PIs can have a role in preventing/managing adolescent depression, as a first-line or adjunctive approach. The limited number of studies, heterogeneity in formats and evaluation, and inconsistent approach to defining PI, make it difficult to compare programmes and measure overall effectiveness. Further work needs to establish an agreed definition of PI, develop/evaluate PIs in line with frameworks for complex interventions, and analyse their active components