Valuing Vacancy: Land Banking and Property Governance in the U.S. Rust Belt

In the early 1970s, planning and city officials in St. Louis, Missouri were grappling with the consequences of white flight, urban renewal, and a withdrawal of federal funding on the city’s increasingly abandoned and tax delinquent housing stock. In response, the city government implemented a land bank to acquire tax foreclosed housing and other property and re-sell it through an urban homesteading plan. Later that decade, a similar program was implemented in Cleveland, Ohio. By the early 2000’s the land banking idea had transformed from a city agency to a near-governmental non-profit regional organization with the powers to acquire abandoned property and find “productive uses” for it. This dissertation examines the history, development, and current practices of land banking using three case studies: St. Louis, Missouri, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and Syracuse, New York. Based on a combination of archival research, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and GIS-based property data analyses, I argue that land banks are a consequence of neoliberal state restructuring that has shifted the role of the shadow state towards property governance in post-industrial cities. Through a mission of resisting speculation in vacant housing, land banks further challenge the neoliberal orthodoxy of market-first policies, even while their work still reproduces existing capitalist property relations. Ultimately, land banks fail to take their critique of urban land speculation far enough in developing and articulating appropriate productive uses for their properties. Throughout this analysis, I highlight the centrality of abandoned property in the housing landscapes of post-industrial cities in the U.S

The Practice of Neogeography in Community-Based Organizations

Neogeography and Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) are two terms that have emerged recently to describe the practice of geography by those not formally trained in it as a discipline and spatial data provided by individuals through social media and other Web-based tools. Both neogeography and VGI can be directly linked to the growth of various online mapping websites and applications that allow for the creation of electronic maps that are interactive, adaptable, and easily shared via the Internet and Web. As recent phenomena, the practice of neogeography and VGI is not well understood, nor are the links these new fields have to previously established knowledge on Geographic Information Systems and its associated practices. This thesis attempts to fill this knowledge gap through a participatory study of neogeographic practice. Using a participatory workshop format, I observed and documented representatives of community-based organizations in Syracuse, NY as they encountered online mapping tools for the first time. I followed up with two of those organizations in longer case studies to better understand how organizations with no obvious geographic focus come to see geography as a way of communicating complex ideas about space. This study revealed that while the technical complexity of the online mapping software continues to prove to be a hindrance to its use, there remains space for professional geographers to interact with laypeople who make maps. Furthermore, such engagement is necessary to begin to understand the issues involved with location-based information and privacy, access to data, and ability to use and communicate geographic concepts and knowledge

Harnessing the Four-Dimensional Ecology Education Framework to redesign an introductory ecology course in a changing higher education landscape

As higher education undergoes rapid and fundamental change, eco-educators need to be prepared to promote the inclusion of the ecological sciences in the biological sciences curriculum of the future. Here, we present an instructional alignment for an introductory ecology course, which is informed by and integrated with the Four-Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) Framework. Our instructional alignment was created collaboratively among faculty involved in teaching the course and emphasizes the relevance and utility of the ecological sciences. We believe that this approach positions the ecological sciences for continued success and inclusion in the biological sciences curriculum of tomorrow

Harnessing the 4DEE Framework to Redesign an Introductory Ecology Course in a Changing Higher Education Landscape

As higher education undergoes rapid and fundamental change, eco-educators need to be prepared to promote the inclusion of the ecological sciences in the biological sciences curriculum of the future. Here, we present an instructional alignment for an introductory ecology course, which is informed by and integrated with the Four-Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) Framework. Our instructional alignment was created collaboratively among faculty involved in teaching the course and emphasizes the relevance and utility of the ecological sciences. We believe that this approach positions the ecological sciences for continued success and inclusion in the biological sciences curriculum of tomorrow

Exploring gastrointestinal variables affecting drug and formulation behavior: methodologies, challenges and opportunities

Various gastrointestinal (GI) factors affect drug and formulation behavior after oral administration, including GI transfer, motility, pH and GI fluid volume and composition. An in-depth understanding of these physiological and anatomical variables is critical for a continued progress in oral drug development. In this review, different methodologies (invasive versus non-invasive) to explore the impact of physiological variables on formulation behavior in the human GI tract are presented, revealing their strengths and limitations. The techniques mentioned allow for an improved understanding of the role of following GI variables: gastric emptying (magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), scintigraphy, acetaminophen absorption technique, ultrasonography, breath test, intraluminal sampling and telemetry), motility (MRI, small intestinal/colonic manometry and telemetry), GI volume changes (MRI and ultrasonography), temperature (telemetry) and intraluminal pH (intraluminal sampling and telemetry)

Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2018.

Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell death pathways are unveiled, we propose an updated classification of cell death subroutines focusing on mechanistic and essential (as opposed to correlative and dispensable) aspects of the process. As we provide molecularly oriented definitions of terms including intrinsic apoptosis, extrinsic apoptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, entotic cell death, NETotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy-dependent cell death, immunogenic cell death, cellular senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, we discuss the utility of neologisms that refer to highly specialized instances of these processes. The mission of the NCCD is to provide a widely accepted nomenclature on cell death in support of the continued development of the field

A web-based self-management programme for people with type 2 diabetes : the HeLP-Diabetes research programme including RCT

Background: In the UK, 6% of the UK population have diabetes mellitus, 90% of whom have type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Diabetes mellitus accounts for 10% of NHS expenditure (£14B annually). Good self-management may improve health outcomes. NHS policy is to refer all people with T2DM to structured education, on diagnosis, to improve their self-management skills, with annual reinforcement thereafter. However, uptake remains low (5.6% in 2014–15). Almost all structured education is group based, which may not suit people who work, who have family or other caring commitments or who simply do not like group-based formats. Moreover, patient needs vary with time and a single education session at diagnosis is unlikely to meet these evolving needs. A web-based programme may increase uptake. / Objectives: Our aim was to develop, evaluate and implement a web-based self-management programme for people with T2DM at any stage of their illness journey, with the goal of improving access to, and uptake of, self-management support, thereby improving health outcomes in a cost-effective manner. Specific objectives were to (1) develop an evidence-based theoretically informed programme that was acceptable to patients and health-care professionals (HCPs) and that could be readily implemented within routine NHS care, (2) determine the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the programme compared with usual care and (3) determine how best to integrate the programme into routine care. / Design: There were five linked work packages (WPs). WP A determined patient requirements and WP B determined HCP requirements for the self-management programme. WP C developed and user-tested the Healthy Living for People with type 2 Diabetes (HeLP-Diabetes) programme. WP D was an individually randomised controlled trial in primary care with a health economic analysis. WP E used a mixed-methods and case-study design to study the potential for implementing the HeLP-Diabetes programme within routine NHS practice. / Setting: English primary care. / Participants: People with T2DM (WPs A, D and E) or HCPs caring for people with T2DM (WPs B, C and E). / Intervention: The HeLP-Diabetes programme; an evidence-based theoretically informed web-based self-management programme for people with T2DM at all stages of their illness journey, developed using participatory design principles. / Main outcome measures: WPs A and B provided data on user ‘wants and needs’, including factors that would improve the uptake and accessibility of the HeLP-Diabetes programme. The outcome for WP C was the HeLP-Diabetes programme itself. The trial (WP D) had two outcomes measures: glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) level and diabetes mellitus-related distress, as measured with the Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID) scale. The implementation outcomes (WP E) were the adoption and uptake at clinical commissioning group, general practice and patient levels and the identification of key barriers and facilitators. / Results: Data from WPs A and B supported our holistic approach and addressed all areas of self-management (medical, emotional and role management). HCPs voiced concerns about linkage with the electronic medical records (EMRs) and supporting patients to use the programme. The HeLP-Diabetes programme was developed and user-tested in WP C. The trial (WP D) recruited to target (n = 374), achieved follow-up rates of over 80% and the intention-to-treat analysis showed that there was an additional improvement in HbA1c levels at 12 months in the intervention group [mean difference –0.24%, 95% confidence interval (CI) –0.44% to –0.049%]. There was no difference in overall PAID score levels (mean difference –1.5 points, 95% CI –3.9 to 0.9 points). The within-trial health economic analysis found that incremental costs were lower in the intervention group than in the control group (mean difference –£111, 95% CI –£384 to £136) and the quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were higher (mean difference 0.02 QALYs, 95% CI 0.000 to 0.044 QALYs), meaning that the HeLP-Diabetes programme group dominated the control group. In WP E, we found that the HeLP-Diabetes programme could be successfully implemented in primary care. General practices that supported people in registering for the HeLP-Diabetes programme had better uptake and registered patients from a wider demographic than those relying on patient self-registration. Some HCPs were reluctant to do this, as they did not see it as part of their professional role. / Limitations: We were unable to link the HeLP-Diabetes programme with the EMRs or to determine the effects of the HeLP-Diabetes programme on users in the implementation study. / Conclusions: The HeLP-Diabetes programme is an effective self-management support programme that is implementable in primary care. / Future work: The HeLP-Diabetes research team will explore the following in future work: research to determine how to improve patient uptake of self-management support; develop and evaluate a structured digital educational pathway for newly diagnosed people; develop and evaluate a digital T2DM prevention programme; and the national implementation of the HeLP-Diabetes programme. / Trial registration: Research Ethics Committee reference number 10/H0722/86 for WPs A–C; Research Ethics Committee reference number 12/LO/1571 and UK Clinical Research Network/National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Portfolio 13563 for WP D; and Research Ethics Committee 13/EM/0033 for WP E. In addition, for WP D, the study was registered with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Register as reference number ISRCTN02123133. / Funding details: This project was funded by the NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research programme and will be published in full in Programme Grants for Applied Research; Vol. 6, No. 5. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information

Le déni de responsabilité (une nouvelle voie de réduction de la dissonance cognitive)

L'existence du déni de responsabilité comme mode de réduction de la dissonance est étudiée à travers sept expérimentations. Six de ces expérimentations testent les effets de facteurs contextuels (ordre de présentation de deux modes de réduction, délai post-comportemental) sur le recours aux modes de réduction, et en particulier sur le déni de responsabilité. La septième expérimentation teste et certifie que le déni de responsabilité réduit l'état affectif négatif induit par la dissonance. Le mécanisme du déni de responsabilité lors de la réduction est discuté par la suite.The existence of denial of responsibility as a mode of dissonance reduction were explored in seven experiments. Six experiments tested the effects of contextual factors (the order of presentation of the two modes of reduction, delayed assessment) on the use of the modes of reduction, in particular the denial of responsibility. The seventh experiment tested and supported the hypothesis that denial of responsibility reduces the negative affective state induced by dissonance. The mechanism of denial of responsibility in dissonance reduction is discussed.NANTERRE-BU PARIS10 (920502102) / SudocSudocFranceF