Fearless Friday: Laurel Downie

In this week’s edition of Fearless Friday, SURGE is honoring Laurel Downie for all the work she does in our community, especially towards organizing “Take Back the Night” for Sexual Assault Awareness Week. [excerpt

Patients and consumers

Successive governments of the UK have strongly supported two policies: an NHS free at the point of delivery, and the encouragement of consumer choice. It was natural for governments to think that amalgamating the policies would increase patient satisfaction, improve efficiency and save money. There are many reasons why this has not been well-received by patients and doctors and has not saved money, but the underlying problem is that there is a conceptual misfit between healthcare as public policy and as individual responsibility. Patients in the NHS cannot become consumers and doctors cannot become suppliers of goods and services

A Seat at the Table: Five Steps to Making Latin American Politics More Diverse

The story of political representation is not unlike many narratives in Latin America. Progress has been made, with some notable success cases, but the region is still home to stark contrasts and there is much work to be done. Drawing on assessments from experts and evidence from leaders who have broken barriers, a new report by Americas Society with the support of the Ford Foundation identifies real strategies for electing and supporting minority lawmakers in Latin American politics.The report, A Seat at the Table: Five Steps to Making Latin American Politics More Diverse, shows women and indigenous, Afro-descendant, and LGBT people are still too often shut out of decision-making processes on the national, state, and municipal levels, and outlines concrete recommendations to get the region's democracies moving in the right direction. Those recommendations are:Commit to quotas. While every country in Latin America except Chile, Guatemala, and Venezuela has some form of legislated quota system in place to ensure women's representation in politics, the results remain uneven.Enforce quotas. To avoid quota laws being mere window dressing it is necessary to identify and close loopholes.Form diverse alliances. One of the most natural ways for minority groups to win political support is by forming networks—and not always with the most obvious partners.Invest in safety nets. Policies ensuring inclusive economic growth are key to achieving parity in political representation.Foster solidarity once in office. Leaders need to remain aligned with their constituents and be advocates for equal representation at their new positions.

A Model Infectious Disease Curriculum for Fourth Grade Students: Integrating Prevention and Education Concepts in the Classroom

Despite the significant need for prevention education and updated disease curricula in elementary schools, there is a deficit of model units, lesson plans, and activities at the fourth grade level. An infectious disease and prevention teaching unit has been developed, following guidelines specified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a format consistent with proven pedagogical methods. This curriculum was tested in five classrooms with a total of 94 students.Prior to implementation, an assessment of all fourth grade teachers in the district examined their perceived knowledge of infectious diseases and their perceived self-efficacy in teaching such content. Evaluation of student progress included student pre and post-tests to assess changes in knowledge. Upon completion of the unit, teachers evaluated the unit to determine its relevance, effectiveness, and ease of implementation, and completed a post-test on their own knowledge and efficacy.Results indicate that the unit was effective in increasing student comprehension and interest in infectious disease prevention, and teacher efficacy in delivery of the material. This model curriculum can serve as a foundation to increase school health education in critical public health areas such as infectious diseases and preparedness, and provide an early introduction to public health careers

The Obama Administration and the Press: Leak Investigations and Surveillance in Post-9/11 America

U.S. President Barack Obama came into office pledging open government, but he has fallen short of his promise. Journalists and transparency advocates say the White House curbs routine disclosure of information and deploys its own media to evade scrutiny by the press. Aggressive prosecution of leakers of classified information and broad electronic surveillance programs deter government sources from speaking to journalists

Knowing Their Audience: The Dynamics of Multiple Strategic Collective Action Frames by W.O.A.R. (Women Organized Against Rape)

Using the sociological theory of collective action frames and scholarship on the anti-sexual violence movement, the analysis discusses multiple frames (rights frames, counter frames, and injustice frames) used by Women Organized Against Rape (W.O.A.R). It shows that in correspondence with public officials, W.O.A.R used rights frames to advocate for reform. Meanwhile, in responses to media outlets and in their own publication, WOARpath, W.O.A.R used counter frames to deconstruct rape culture. The final two sections of the paper place this analysis in conversation with prominent critiques of the anti-sexual violence movement: its lack of intersectionality and emphasis on victimization and vulnerability. W.O.A.R’s activist methods and rhetoric reveal a disregard for how race complicates the issue of sexual violence. However, W.O.A.R’s use of victimization and vulnerability rhetoric is limited to correspondence with public officials. In WOARpath , W.O.A.R subverted victim frames through war motifs and calls for self-defense

Influence of incubation temperature on morphology and locomotion performance of Leatherback (<i>Dermochelys coriacea</i>) hatchlings

The journey of Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea (Vandelli, 1761)) hatchlings from nest to the sea is a vulnerable life-history stage. Studies have shown that nest incubation temperatures influence hatchling morphology and locomotor performance, which may affect hatchling fitness. We obtained incubation temperature profiles from 16 Leatherback nests in Tobago, West Indies, during the 2008 nesting season (March-June). There was significant variation among mean nest incubation temperatures, which had a significant influence on hatchling morphology. Using principal components analysis, we determined the morphological traits that explained the most variation among hatchlings, which allowed investigation of the relationship between hatchling morphology and terrestrial locomotion speed. Hatchlings with a narrower carapace width and longer flipper reach (produced at lower incubation temperatures) had significantly faster terrestrial speed and total run time than those with opposite characteristics (produced at higher incubation temperatures). Our results demonstrate that lower incubation temperatures produce hatchlings with traits that are significantly advantageous to terrestrial locomotion. These findings suggest that nest incubation temperature is important in determining hatchling fitness, as nest incubation temperature significantly influences hatchling morphology and locomotor capabilities. This study supplements related findings in Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas (L., 1758)), but also illustrates some unique features in Leatherbacks

The Reconstruction of American Journalism

Explores the history and changing landscape of American journalism as well as the need to preserve independent, original, and credible print news reporting. Considers the roles of the Internet, collaborations among newspapers, and foundation support

Automated Valuation Models: an international perspective

This paper describes two research projects: the first carried out during Q2 2007 for the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (Downie & Robson, 2007). The second is a questionnaire survey of RICS Residential Faculty members, carried out Q2 2008, as part of an ongoing study funded by the RICS Education Trust and the RICS Residential Faculty, investigating how AVMs can integrate with valuation services to meet the needs of borrowers, lenders and RICS members. Both projects were undertaken by the School of the Built Environment at Northumbria University. The former predates the credit crunch and the latter coincided with it. The paper will first outline the main findings of the CML report, then those of the valuer questionnaire and finally draw conclusions about issues for consideration by professional and industry bodies