Kathleen J. Hancock on Human Rights: International Protection, Monitoring, Enforcement by Janusz Symonides. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2004. 416pp.

A review of: Human Rights: International Protection, Monitoring, Enforcement by Janusz Symonides. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2004. 416pp

International political economy and renewable energy: hydroelectric power and the potential for a resource curse

One of the most studied issues regarding the role of natural resources in development is the so-called “resource curse,” the paradoxical (and contested) situation in which a state with abundant resources has low rates of economic growth per capita, high levels of income inequality, low levels of democracy, high gender inequality, and high levels of domestic and international conflicts that surround resources. Although the term implies all resources, most research by political scientists as well as economists and other social scientists examines the role of oil and hard minerals, leaving out many resources, including renewable energy resources. We argue that many of the causal mechanisms behind the curse, when it does manifest, hold for water-abundant states who have sufficient resources to create large hydroelectric projects. Drawing on illustrative examples of hydroelectric projects around the world, we demonstrate sufficient, albeit preliminary, evidence that most aspects of the resource curse literature apply to hydroelectric projects, at least in some states, and thus suggest the curse literature should be expanded to include water-abundance. In addition, we add a new factor, variable fuel supply, which could be an important factor for other resources as well. We conclude with suggestions for developing a research agenda and note a number of policy implications

Comparing treatment fidelity between study arms of a randomized controlled clinical trial for stroke family caregivers

OBJECTIVE: To compare treatment fidelity among treatment arms in the Telephone Assessment and Skill-Building Kit study for stroke caregivers (TASK II) with respect to: 1) protocol adherence; 2) intervention dosage and 3) nurse intervener perspectives. DESIGN: A randomized controlled clinical trial design. SETTING: Urban, community, midwestern United States. SUBJECTS: A total of 254 stroke caregivers (mean ±SD age, 54.4 ±11.8 years), 55 (22.0%) males and 199 (78.4%) females) randomized to the TASK II intervention (n=123) or an Information, Support, and Referral comparison group (n=131). INTERVENTIONS: TASK II participants received the TASK II Resource Guide; Information, Support, and Referral participants received a standard caregiver brochure. At approximately 8 weeks after discharge, both groups received 8 weekly calls from a nurse, with a booster call 4 weeks later. MEASURES: Protocol adherence was evaluated with the TASK II Checklist for Monitoring Adherence. Intervention dosage was measured by the number of minutes caregivers spent reading materials and talking with the nurse. Nurse intervener perspectives were obtained through focus groups. RESULTS: Protocol adherence was 80% for the TASK II and 92% for the Information, Support, and Referral. As expected, intervention dosage differed between TASK II and Information, Support, and Referral with respect to caregiver time spent reading materials (t=-6.49; P<.001) and talking with the nurse (t=-7.38; P<.001). Focus groups with nurses yielded further evidence for treatment fidelity and recommendations for future trials. CONCLUSIONS: These findings substantiate treatment fidelity in both study arms of the TASK II stroke caregiver intervention trial (NIH R01NR010388; ClinicalTrials.govNCT01275495)

Critical considerations for the practical utility of health equity tools: a concept mapping study

Background Promoting health equity within health systems is a priority and challenge worldwide. Health equity tools have been identified as one strategy for integrating health equity considerations into health systems. Although there has been a proliferation of health equity tools, there has been limited attention to evaluating these tools for their practicality and thus their likelihood for uptake. Methods Within the context of a large program of research, the Equity Lens in Public Health (ELPH), we conducted a concept mapping study to identify key elements and themes related to public health leaders and practitioners’ views about what makes a health equity tool practical and useful. Concept mapping is a participatory mixed-method approach to generating ideas and concepts to address a common concern. Participants brainstormed responses to the prompt “To be useful, a health equity tool should…” After participants sorted responses into groups based on similarity and rated them for importance and feasibility, the statements were analyzed using multidimensional scaling, then grouped using cluster analysis. Pattern matching graphs were constructed to illustrate the relationship between the importance and feasibility of statements, and go-zone maps were created to guide subsequent action. Results The process resulted in 67 unique statements that were grouped into six clusters: 1) Evaluation for Improvement; 2) User Friendliness; 3) Explicit Theoretical Background; 4) Templates and Tools 5) Equity Competencies; and 6) Nothing about Me without Me- Client Engaged. The result was a set of concepts and themes describing participants’ views of the practicality and usefulness of health equity tools. Conclusions These thematic clusters highlight the importance of user friendliness and having user guides, templates and resources to enhance use of equity tools. Furthermore, participants’ indicated that practicality was not enough for a tool to be useful. In addition to practical characteristics of the tool, a useful tool is one that encourages and supports the development of practitioner competencies to engage in equity work including critical reflections on power and institutional culture as well as strategies for the involvement of community members impacted by health inequities in program planning and delivery. The results of this study will be used to inform the development of practical criteria to assess health equity tools for application in public health

Waves III-V Multi-year Air Pollution Exposure Estimates

There is a growing body of evidence indicating that cumulative, long-term exposure to air pollution affects health and development. This air pollution data described here provides longer-term estimates of air pollution exposure that can be used to address a broad range of research questions related to how air pollution exposure over time may relate to a variety of health outcomes

Toward the Integration of an Attract-and-Kill Approach with Entomopathogenic Nematodes to Control Multiple Life Stages of Plum Curculio (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Efforts to reduce insecticide inputs against plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar, a key pest of apples in eastern North America, include perimeter-row insecticide sprays applied after the whole-orchard petal fall spray to manage dispersing adults and, more recently, insecticide sprays confined to odor-baited trap trees. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are virulent to ground-dwelling stages of C. nenuphar, and may be applied to the ground underneath trap-tree canopies. Here, we (1) compared the efficacy of the odor-baited trap tree approach with grower-prescribed (=grower standard) sprays to manage C. nenuphar populations over a six-year period in seven commercial apple orchards in New England; and (2) assessed the performance of the EPN Steinernema riobrave at suppressing ground-dwelling stages of C. nenuphar. In addition, the performance of S. riobrave was compared against that of S. carpocapsae and S. feltiae in one year. Across the six years, percent fruit injury on trap tree plots averaged 11.3% on odor-baited trap trees and 1.4% on unbaited trees in grower standard plots, highlighting the ability of trap trees to aggregate C. nenuphar activity and subsequent injury. Mean percentage injury on fruit sampled from interior trees, the strongest measure of treatment performance, in trap tree plots did not differ significantly from that recorded on interior trees in grower standard spray plots (0.95 vs. 0.68%, respectively). Steinernema riobrave consistently reduced C. nenuphar populations as indicated by the significantly lower number of adult C. nenuphar that emerged from the soil, when compared to water control. Steinernema carpocapsae and S. riobrave performed similarly well, and both EPN species outperformed S. feltiae. Our combined findings indicate that an IPM approach that targets multiple life stages of C. nenuphar has the potential to manage this pest more sustainably in a reduced-spray environment

East Bay Coalition for the Homeless: Branding Study and Marketing Strategy

There are a number of potential positioning strategies. The two which make the most sense for the EBCH are to “position the EBCH away from others in the category” and to “position the EBCH as unique.” These strategies have the advantage of setting the EBCH apart from the other organizations that address homelessness. Occupying its own “position” in the minds of potential and current donors is not only an effective communications/marketing strategy but also a less costly one because it avoids head-to-head competition and comparisons

Halloween, Organization, and the Ethics of Uncanny Celebration

This article examines the relationship between organizational ethics, the uncanny, and the annual celebration of Halloween. We begin by exploring the traditional and contemporary organizational function of Halloween as ‘tension-management ritual’ (Etzioni, Sociol Theory 18(1):44–59, 2000) through which collective fears, anxieties, and fantasies are played out and given material expression. Combining the uncanny with the folkloric concept of ostension, we then examine an incident in which UK supermarket retailers made national news headlines for selling offensive Halloween costumes depicting ‘escaped mental patients’. Rather than treating this incident as a problem of moral hygiene—in which products are removed, apologies made, and lessons learned—we consider the value of Halloween as a unique and disruptive ethical encounter with the uncanny Other. Looking beyond its commercial appeal and controversy, we reflect on the creative, generous, and disruptive potential of Halloween as both tension-management ritual and unique organizational space of hospitality through which to receive and embrace alterity and so discover the homely within the unheimlich