Women in Local Government Elections in Trinidad and Tobago 1946-2013

“Pioneering research” is how the publication Women in Local Government Elections in Trinidad and Tobago 1946-2013 introduces itself. Indeed, the Network of NGOs of Trinidad and Tobago for the Advancement of Women has created a historic record, of the nation’s women who faced the polls at the Local Government level since the system of Local Government was extended throughout the country by virtue of the introduction of County Councils. Until 1946 Local Government was limited to the three municipalities viz: the capital city of- Port of Spain, and the boroughs of San Fernando and Arima.

The Logic of Equity Practice in Queensland State Education - 2010

This paper reports on an interview based study which explored the implementation of a major policy initiative in Queensland, Australia, with particular attention to social justice issues. Interviews were conducted with key policy actors in three sections of the bureaucracy: strategic directions, performance and measurement; curriculum and assessment; and workforce and professional development. We were interested in the ways in which the tensions between redistributive and recognitive approaches to social justice were being managed in the bureaucracy. We drew on Bourdieu’s concepts of field, logic of practice, political discourse, habitus, capital, and symbolic power struggles to theorise the politics of discourse associated with such policy implementation processes within bureaucracies. The interview data revealed differences in approaches to equity issues and in the language used in the three sections of the bureaucracy. We argue that these differences, associated with the different priorities of the three sections and their differing roles in the implementation processes, reflect the different logics of practice operating within the different sections. The final section of the paper discusses the implications of the analysis for theorising equity and difference in education policy in new times, and considers the value of Bourdieu’s concepts for theorising policy implementation processes

Hands-on introductory training in Backdoor and SQL injection attacks

Software, though vital to organizations, come with risks attached. Malicious use of software has caused a great deal of damage to individuals, companies, and even countries. Accounting students generally do not acquire detailed understanding of such threats. To introduce accounting students to software vulnerabilities, we provide two MS Access exercises illustrating simplified versions of Backdoor attacks and SQL injection attacks. These quick and simple-to-do introductory exercises help accounting students get a closer look at software vulnerabilities. The COSO framework, to address such risks is discussed. Post exercise survey revealed increased understanding of software vulnerabilities

Treatment of Acute Sciatica

In patients with acute sciatica, bed rest and advice to stay active have similar outcomes on their functional status and perceived improvement. (Strength of Recommendation [SOR]: A) Spinal manipulation increases improvement compared with placebo; also, specific spinal pulling and turning manipulation techniques are more effective than traction. (SOR: A) Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are similar to placebo in overall improvement. (SOR: A) Epidural steroid injections are unlikely to be beneficial. (SOR: A

The impact of Hanen More Than Words Programme on parents of children with ASD in Malaysia

This study aims to investigate the viability and effectiveness of the Hanen More Than Words (HMTW) programme amongst parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This quassi-experimental study involved 31 children (27 boys, 4 girls; M = 34.58 months, SD = 3.67) who met criteria for ASD and their parents. The measurement was conducted in three phases; Time 1 (prior to intervention), Time 2 and Time 3 (at three and five months after the intervention begins). The outcome measures were assessed based on: (1) changes in parental facilitative strategies; (2) the children’s growth in vocabulary and (3) the progress of communication and social skills. The paired t-test were used to analyze the pre and post findings within the intervention and control group with p-value <.01. Results showed that there was an increase in using the facilitative communication strategies by parents in the HMTW group during parent-child interaction. The children showed an increased in vocabulary, communication and social skills. The parents agreed that their mastery of facilitative communication strategies increased and they provided positive feedback about the HMTW approach. The results suggested that the HMTW program could be implemented well by Malaysian parents. The training was supported by Malaysian parents and had measurable effect on both parents and children

Fabrication of High Thermal Conductivity NARloy-Z-Diamond Composite Combustion Chamber Liner for Advanced Rocket Engines

This paper describes the process development for fabricating a high thermal conductivity NARloy-Z-Diamond composite (NARloy-Z-D) combustion chamber liner for application in advanced rocket engines. The fabrication process is challenging and this paper presents some details of these challenges and approaches used to address them. Prior research conducted at NASA-MSFC and Penn State had shown that NARloy-Z-40%D composite material has significantly higher thermal conductivity than the state of the art NARloy-Z alloy. Furthermore, NARloy-Z-40 %D is much lighter than NARloy-Z. These attributes help to improve the performance of the advanced rocket engines. Increased thermal conductivity will directly translate into increased turbopump power, increased chamber pressure for improved thrust and specific impulse. Early work on NARloy-Z-D composites used the Field Assisted Sintering Technology (FAST, Ref. 1, 2) for fabricating discs. NARloy-Z-D composites containing 10, 20 and 40vol% of high thermal conductivity diamond powder were investigated. Thermal conductivity (TC) data. TC increased with increasing diamond content and showed 50% improvement over pure copper at 40vol% diamond. This composition was selected for fabricating the combustion chamber liner using the FAST technique

A TaqMan real-time PCR assay for the detection and quantitation of Plasmodium knowlesi

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The misdiagnosis of <it>Plasmodium knowlesi </it>by microscopy has prompted a re-evaluation of the geographic distribution, prevalence and pathogenesis of this species using molecular diagnostic tools. In this report, a specific probe for <it>P. knowlesi</it>, that can be used in a previously described TaqMan real-time PCR assay for detection of <it>Plasmodium </it>spp., and <it>Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae </it>and <it>Plasmodium ovale</it>, was designed and validated against clinical samples.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A hydrolysis probe for a real-time PCR assay was designed to recognize a specific DNA sequence within the <it>P. knowlesi </it>small subunit ribosomal RNA gene. The sensitivity, linearity and specificity of the assay were determined using plasmids containing <it>P. knowlesi </it>DNA and genomic DNA of <it>P. falciparum, P. knowlesi, P. malariae, P. ovale </it>and <it>P. vivax </it>isolated from clinical samples. DNA samples of the simian malaria parasites <it>Plasmodium cynomolgi </it>and <it>Plasmodium inui </it>that can infect humans under experimental conditions were also examined together with human DNA samples.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Analytical sensitivity of the <it>P. knowlesi</it>-specific assay was 10 copies/μL and quantitation was linear over a range of 10-10⁶copies. The sensitivity of the assay is equivalent to nested PCR and <it>P. knowlesi </it>DNA was detected from all 40 clinical <it>P. knowlesi </it>specimens, including one from a patient with a parasitaemia of three parasites/μL of blood. No cross-reactivity was observed with 67 <it>Plasmodium </it>DNA samples (31 <it>P. falciparum</it>, 23 <it>P. vivax</it>, six <it>P. ovale</it>, three <it>P. malariae</it>, one <it>P. malariae/P. ovale</it>, one <it>P. falciparum/P. malariae, one P. inui and one P. cynomolgi) </it>and four samples of human DNA.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This test demonstrated excellent sensitivity and specificity, and adds <it>P. knowlesi </it>to the repertoire of <it>Plasmodium </it>targets for the clinical diagnosis of malaria by real-time PCR assays. Furthermore, quantitation of DNA copy number provides a useful advantage over other molecular assays to investigate the correlation between levels of infection and the spectrum of disease.</p