Decent Work and the Informal Economy

employment, governance, ILO, indicators, informal sector, representation, rights, social protection

Investigating the electrical response of the brain of the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) to nociception through the use of depth electroencephalography (dEEG) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Physiology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

Nociception is an unavoidable side effect of many routine management and clinical procedures in animals. Electroencephalography (EEG) has previously been used to investigate the effect of nociception on mammalian brain activity. This study aimed to develop a method of assessing the avian response to nociception through depth electroencephalography (dEEG) of brain regions believed to be involved in central pain processing. Two groups of chickens were used in this study to investigate two brain regions, the rostral hyperpallium apicale (HA) and the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM). These regions were chosen due to the afferent and efferent projections they receive from the sensory thalamus and their previous implication in pain processing. Subjects were anaesthetised, and a concentric needle electrode was inserted into the brain to record the electrical activity in response to a number of stimuli. These stimuli included one non-painful, somatosensory stimulus, and four nociceptive stimuli (mechanical, thermal, feather removal and electrical). The dEEG data was then run through a spectral analyser which generated the median frequency (F50), spectral edge frequency (F95) and total power (PTOT). Inspection of these variables determined that within the HA there were two populations of birds, therefore these birds were treated as separate groups in the analysis (hHA and lHA). It was seen that spectral characteristics of the three groups investigated differed significantly, indicating differences in activity and function. The response to stimulation was seen to be significantly different between these brain regions. Following stimulation, the hHA was seen to have a significantly lower percentage of baseline spectral edge frequency and median frequency compared to the NCM and lHA. In response to stimulation the activity of the NCM and lHA remained constant and showed no distinguishable response, while the hHA was more variable. The hHA was much more variable. Although there was no consistent response to stimulation, there was a significant decrease in total power following electrical stimulation in the hHA. This study presents a number of interesting findings and demonstrates that different regions of the brain respond in differing ways to stimulation. The findings suggest that the hyperpallium apicale may respond to nociceptive stimulation, however further work is required to distinguish this. The presence of two populations within the HA group suggests that recordings were taken from two distinct brain regions, one of which displayed comparatively higher sensitivity to nociceptive stimulation. Elucidation of this brain region and further research into the response to nociception is required to further understand the response of the avian brain to pain. For future studies, the development of more precise methods will be required to enable more accurate recording of the activity occurring throughout the avian brain

The Eco-Fee Imbroglio: Lessons from Ontario’s Troubled Experiment in Charging for Waste Management

Charging for the life cycle cost of waste management is contentious. The recent example of some retailers charging “eco-fees” in Ontario, with respect to sales of household products such as detergent, batteries and fluorescent light bulbs, is a case in point. However, the Ontario program for municipal waste, which the provincial government has partially abandoned, is just one example of the movement known as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which is spreading across the country and to many products. As in numerous other jurisdictions, Canadian provinces have imposed, or are considering, similar EPR programs for products such as tires, electronics and countless other goods. This Commentary uses lessons from Ontario’s waste programs to examine EPR’s potential attractions – when such programs are properly designed.Economic Growth and Innovation, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Ontario, Canada, eco-fees, waste management life cycle cost

Journeys through managing the unknowable: making decisions about dangerous patients and prisoners with severe personality disorder

Historically we have not known how to respond to offenders with personality disorder. In many respects all we have done is contain them, but this has failed to keep a hold of our anxieties. The Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD) Programme and four high security hospital and prison units for men have been developed in an attempt to reduce uncertainty and to help us 'know' more. Drawing from the case records of DSPD patients and prisoners and interviews with Parole Board (PB) and Mental Health Review Tribunal (MHRT) members this thesis explores how the journeys of patients and prisoners prior to and following DSPD admission are presented to the PB and MHRT, and how DSPD may impact on PB and MHRT decision-making. DSPD patients and prisoners share many similar characteristics, but following DSPD admission, some differences in their institutional responses can be identified. While the outcomes of PB and MHRT reviews with DSPD participants are different, the reviews serve many similar purposes. The uncertainty that surrounds DSPD disrupts PB and MHRT conceptions of what a normal journey through the criminal justice and/or mental health system looks like. We are not entirely certain who DSPD patients and prisoners have been, who they are, and who they may become. We do not know the extent to which DSPD treatment will reduce risk. Nor do we know how, or whether, DSPD patients and prisoners can progress to lower security facilities. Paradoxically, what we do know about DSPD, and the precautionary logic that structures DSPD, may serve to heighten our anxieties. It is this problematic terrain for decision-making, and journeys through managing the unknowable that this thesis explores

Student motivations for studying criminology: a narrative inquiry

The number of students studying criminology at university has significantly increased. Yet, criminology students have been all but ignored in research, despite being key stakeholders and ambassadors in the criminological enterprise. Drawing on the analysis of twelve in-depth interviews, we explore why students are motivated to study criminology and how these motivations are linked to their past experiences and future aspirations. Using a narrative inquiry, three types of stories emerged through our analysis: stories about (1) building on existing interests; (2) understanding the 'self'; and (3) securing 'justice' and ‘helping’ others. The stories students tell about their exposure to ‘crime’ help motivate their decision to study criminology, while their engagement with the discipline, enables them to make sense of these previous experiences and of themselves

‘A very high price to pay?’: Transforming rehabilitation and short prison sentences for women

Significant increases to the prison population in England and Wales during the last twenty years have generated concerns about the over-use of imprisonment, particularly for women and those serving a short sentence. In 2010, major changes to the criminal justice system were proposed by the coalition government, including the introduction of new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and a ‘Payment by Results’ (PbR) scheme whereby financial rewards are given for reducing levels of reoffending (MoJ, 2010; 2013h; 2013i). Other significant developments in the new Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) agenda (MoJ, 2013h; 2013i) include the introduction of resettlement prisons, “through the gate” services and statutory supervision for short sentence prisoners after release. Drawing from the findings of an interview survey of twenty-five short sentence women prisoners and prison staff, this chapter provides an overview of the short term imprisonment of women in England and Wales.1 Key areas of the TR reforms are explored and the chapter concludes by considering the risks and opportunities they may present for women sentenced to, or eligible for, a short prison sentence

Continued and intensified hostility: the problematisation of immigration in the UK Government’s 2021 ‘New Plan for Immigration’

Drawing on Bacchi’s (2009) ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’ framework, this paper provides a critical analysis of HM Government’s (2021a) New Plan for Immigration. We explore how immigration is problematised, the assumptions that underlie these problematisations, alternative ways of representing the ‘problem’ of immigration, and the possible effects of the proposed reforms. Our paper demonstrates how the New Plan is increasingly hostile towards, not only ‘illegal’ migrants, but an ever-widening group of people and organisations who may be viewed as facilitating illegal entry (organised criminals, hauliers) and/or those held responsible for preventing/delaying their removal (lawyers). The government’s proposals risk creating a two-tiered system, increasing the exclusion experienced by those seeking asylum, and widening the net of those held responsible for immigration control. Ultimately, we conclude that while the sentiments behind the government’s New Plan may not be all that ‘new’, they are nevertheless significant for their continuation and intensification of existing hostile policies and practices relating to immigration in the UK. This is especially so, given a number of recent global events that could have provided an opportunity to disrupt the government’s problematisation of, and hostility towards, people seeking refuge