Land Grant Application- Cook, Abram (Lebanon)

Land grant application submitted to the Maine Land Office on behalf of Abram Cook for service in the Revolutionary War, by their widow Sarah.https://digitalmaine.com/revolutionary_war_me_land_office/1206/thumbnail.jp

Intervention schedule, occupational therapy for people with psychotic conditions in community settings.

This intervention schedule was the result of a development process which defined occupational therapy for people with psychotic conditions in community settings (Cook & Birrell 2007), prior to piloting in a randomised controlled trial (Cook, Chambers & Coleman 2009). Initially, a draft schedule was designed using Creek’s (2003) definition of occupational therapy as a complex intervention and other literature regarding psychosis. Consensus methods provided a systematic and transparent process for refining the schedule: the Delphi method was used with 20 local mental health occupational therapists followed by a modified nominal group technique with occupational therapists attending a national conference. This paper focuses on the process of gaining consensus and the practice-related issues that arose. The results identified 82 components that detailed occupational therapy actions under 11 stages. The preferred approach was client centred, with models of practice, goals and actions chosen collaboratively with the individual client. Occupational therapy was defined as separate to care management but incorporated some generic tasks. Cook, S and Birrell, M (2007) Defining an Occupational Therapy Intervention for People with Psychosis. British Journal of Occupational Therapy. 70(3): 96 - 106. Cook, S., E. Chambers, and J. H. Coleman. (2009) "Occupational therapy for people with psychotic conditions in community settings: a pilot randomized controlled trial." Clinical Rehabilitation 23.1: 40-52. Creek, J (2003) Occupational Therapy defined as a complex intervention London : College of Occupational Therapist

COWpads: Sharing iPads in a range of secondary school classrooms

This article outlines a mid-point snapshot of the progress of a small teaching-as-inquiry project at Hillcrest High School in 2013. Three teachers (music, mathematics, French) volunteered to focus on using iPads in a COW (computers on wheels, hence the term COWPads) configuration with a junior class during 2013. Each teacher created their own teaching-as-inquiry question focused on specific aspects of their practice. A University of Waikato researcher supported the teachers by observing classes and meeting regularly for feedback, reflection and discussion. Halfway through the year the following themes have emerged: the technical challenges to using a device designed for personal use as a shared device; a positive impact on students’ concentration levels and spans when using iPads, and shifts in teachers’ pedagogical design and practice. The teachers individually contribute their voices to this article, describing their initial experiences of using iPads on a regular basis and what they concentrated on most during the first few months of the project

Introduction: Overcoming Barriers to the Extension of Social Protection: Lessons from the Asia Region

The contributions to this IDS Bulletin report on some of the findings from research undertaken under the Social Protection in Asia programme. This is a three?year policy?oriented research and network building programme, funded by the Ford Foundation and IDRC, with project partners in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The research focuses on examining interventions aimed at extending social protection to those sections of the population, the majority in many Asian countries, who are excluded from formal social security systems. It has sought to identify and address barriers to the establishment of more comprehensive social protection systems that could address such difficult?to?reach groups. This issue of the IDS Bulletin brings together some initial reflections on the findings from this research. These relate to advocacy efforts to draw attention to those groups that have been largely invisible in the social protection agenda; to the importance of civil society and grassroots mobilisation in creating access to state provision and to lessons from social protection efforts to go to scale. These reflections are intended to feed into current debates about the design of appropriate social protection schemes that effectively meet identified needs

The Long Shadow of Chinese Censorship: How Chinese Media Restrictions Affect News Outlets around the World

Since coming to power in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has constructed a multi-layered system for censoring unwanted news and stifling opposing viewpoints within China. Over the past two decades, this domestic apparatus has spawned mechanisms that extend information controls to media outlets based outside China. This study provides a survey of this phenomenon, finding that over the past five years, its nature and scope have intensified and expanded. In many cases, Chinese officials directly impede independent reporting by media based abroad. However, more prevalent -- and often more effective -- are methods of control that subtly induce self-censorship or inspire media owners, advertisers, and other international actors to take action on the CCP's behalf. These efforts -- ranging from discreet to blatant -- are successful in some cases, and encounter significant pushback in others, with journalists and activists at times scoring important victories. But whatever the outcome of each contestation, the "China Factor" is palpably present, be it at the internationally renowned Washington Post, a local newspaper in Nepal, or a Chinese radio talk show in Los Angeles.This report was authored by Freedom House researcher Sarah Cook and published by the Center for International Media Assistance at the National Endowment for Democracy on October 22, 2013. Combining case studies, interviews, and original analysis, its chapters focus on six types of media outlets based outside mainland China that together reach news consumers worldwide: major international media; local outlets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America; mainstream media in Hong Kong and Taiwan; exile Chinese outlets providing uncensored news to people in China; and media serving Chinese diaspora communities around the world

Chinas Global Media Footprint: Democratic Responses to Expanding Authoritarian Influence

This report describes the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) sharp power efforts to shape media content around the world. It also documents how nongovernmental actors contribute to a growing accumulation of activities aimed at countering Beijing's media influence while protecting democratic institutions.Leveraging propaganda, disinformation, censorship, and influence over key nodes in the information flow, Beijing's expanding efforts to shape global narratives go beyond simply "telling China's story." Their sharper edge undermines democratic norms, erodes national sovereignty, weakens the financial sustainability of independent media, and violates local laws. An acknowledgment and understanding of the challenges that China's party-state and related actors pose to media freedom globally—not only by China experts, but by the full array of nongovernmental actors engaged in the media, news, and technology sectors—must be central to a comprehensive response

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationPain management is a critical component of neonatal intensive care, not only for ethical reasons, but also because the failure to provide adequate analgesia during early life has been associated with poor outcomes. Intravenous acetaminophen is an attractive option for treatment of neonatal pain; however, there is a lack of consensus regarding optimal dosing guidelines, and safety data are limited. A principal safety concern is acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity, which depends highly on drug metabolism. Unfortunately, neonatal pharmacokinetic data for acetaminophen metabolites are scarce. The objective of this dissertation was to explore maturational changes in the pharmacokinetics of intravenous acetaminophen and its metabolites in neonates. This goal was achieved by completion of three major aims that centered on a prospective clinical trial. Neonates with a clinical indication for intravenous analgesia received multiple doses of intravenous acetaminophen, and pharmacokinetic samples were collected throughout a 72-h study period. Aim 1 focused on development and validation of a novel high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous quantification of acetaminophen and the metabolites derived from acetaminophen glucuronidation, sulfation, and oxidation. Suitability of the assay was demonstrated by analysis of plasma and urine samples from the neonatal pharmacokinetic study. In Aim 2, a population pharmacokinetic model was developed from the parent drug concentration-time data. In extremely preterm to full-term neonates, body weight iv was the principal predictor of intravenous acetaminophen pharmacokinetics. External evaluation with a dataset from an independent study suggested that these findings should be generalizable to other similar patient populations. Aim 3 focused on development of a parent-metabolite population pharmacokinetic model using the data obtained from the neonatal pharmacokinetic study. As part of model development, an extensive covariate analysis was performed to identify patient characteristics that influenced metabolite pharmacokinetic parameters, with a particular focus on formation clearance of metabolites derived from acetaminophen oxidation. Maturational changes in the fraction of acetaminophen undergoing oxidation were small relative to between-subject variability. Collectively, these results improve understanding of the factors influencing acetaminophen disposition during the neonatal period, and these findings inform appropriate dosing strategies for intravenous acetaminophen in this vulnerable patient population