Fieldwork Summary Report-World Health Organization

My fieldwork experience took place at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, where I completed over 420 hours of practical experience. My fieldwork focused in the field of mental health, working on disorders management (psychosis, depression and suicide) and evidence-based research, but more specifically focusing on schizophrenia, premature death in severe mental disorders, and maternal mental health. Although my fieldwork focused within these areas, for the purpose of this final report, I have opted to focus on my contributions to the research around schizophrenia and premature death within severe mental disorders. Specifically, I contributed to multiple fact/information sheets for the WHO website around disorders management, as well as contributions toward a paper titled “Living a healthy life with schizophrenia”, which is to be published for World Mental Health day in October 2014. Having successfully completed a rigorous course load in my graduate and undergraduate education at the University of San Francisco, I was well prepared for the work I undertook. I possessed a strong determination to not only challenge myself with the projects but to ensure I produced high caliber work. As my passions lie within the realm of mental health and public policy, reducing stigma, and bringing about awareness of human rights, regardless of a person’s mental health status, I found myself not only motivated every day, but also eager to devour the information available. My fieldwork placement was the perfect fit and the opportunities it presented and the people I met were irreplaceable. This Fieldwork Summary Report will provide an overview of the main projects that I worked on, how they were implemented, the end results and public health significance, and the competencies addressed. Additionally, you will find a brief summary of my overall experience at the WHO, including my participation on the WHO Intern Board, and the various professional events I had a chance to attend while living in Geneva

Building a health and environment geographical information system :an evaluation, looking at childhood cancer in Northern England

PhD ThesisThe aim of this research was to evaluate a relatively young technology, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), in a specific applications environment. The application adopted was that of searching for environmental causes of childhood cancer, in particular that of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), in Northern England. It is also relevant in terms of the WHO's intention to develop a Health and Environment GIS, and therefore the research aims to satisfy their recommendations for pilot studies. The subject matter of this thesis therefore covers two very high profile topics, which it is believed will mutually benefit from the research carried out. Firstly, very little is known about the aetiology of ALL, and thus any new methodology which is introduced to help analyse sensitive issues of causation is welcomed not only by those in the medical field but also the public. The application was made possible with the provision of detailed cancer data for Northern England and a weak but interesting hypothesis that environmental factors may be an attributable mechanism for causation. Key questions which are asked include; Where are incidences of ALL located? Why are they there? Is there a cluster? and What could be the cause? Secondly a Geographical Information System, in this case the proprietary software package ARC/INFO, was considered an excellent medium for tackling this spatial epidemiological problem. Especially with its capability to store large volumes of diverse data, and its inherent flexibility to deal with spatial information pertaining to health and environmental factors. More importantly the application itself offered a means of evaluating the implementation of a GIS. Establishing the advantages and pitfalls which accompany all stages of 'The GIS Process' and an invaluable documentation of the experiences acquired as an initiator, developer and implementor of this new technology. In addition, this research offers fresh ideas and techniques for improving those areas of the technology which appear to be lacking in these early phases of its development. The problems of spatial analysis in GIS and the provision of useful tools such as 'pattern spotters', 'relationship seekers' and 'error handlers' are discussed as alternative techniques. To ensure an exciting future for GIS technology in application environments the latter and other key areas of research which should be persued are highlighted in this thesis

Intermediate reading exercises for use with the Durrell Analysis of Reading Difficulty.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Social cognition in the age of human–robot interaction

Artificial intelligence advances have led to robots endowed with increasingly sophisticated social abilities. These machines speak to our innate desire to perceive social cues in the environment, as well as the promise of robots enhancing our daily lives. However, a strong mismatch still exists between our expectations and the reality of social robots. We argue that careful delineation of the neurocognitive mechanisms supporting human–robot interaction will enable us to gather insights critical for optimising social encounters between humans and robots. To achieve this, the field must incorporate human neuroscience tools including mobile neuroimaging to explore long-term, embodied human–robot interaction in situ. New analytical neuroimaging approaches will enable characterisation of social cognition representations on a finer scale using sensitive and appropriate categorical comparisons (human, animal, tool, or object). The future of social robotics is undeniably exciting, and insights from human neuroscience research will bring us closer to interacting and collaborating with socially sophisticated robots

Management of strawberry blossom weevil and European tarnished plant bug in organic strawberry and raspberry using semiochemical traps

The strawberry blossom weevil (Anthonomus rubi) and the European tarnished plant bug (Lygus rugulipennis) cause large (10 - >80%) losses in yield and quality in organically grown berries. A consortium with 6 European countries has been created to work on the management of those pests. The pheromones of A. rubi and L. rugulipennis have been characterized in England by NRI/EMR. For the attraction of A. rubi the importance of host plant volatiles in combination with the pheromones has also been documented. The natural semiochemical mechanisms of sexual attraction and host plant finding of A. rubi and L. rugulipennis will be further studied and exploited to develop effective semiochemical traps for their management through mass trapping. Attractive lures for these two species will then be combined into a single multitrap with the aim of managing two pests simultaneously in each crop. This will be one of the first approaches to pest management of non-lepidopteran insect pests of horticultural crops using semiochemicals in the EU, and probably the first to target multiple species from different insect orders. The project will be organized in the following work packages; 1) Chemical analysis of plant volatiles, 2) Pest insects in strawberry, 3) Pest insects in raspberry and 4) Trap design and lure development. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support for this project provided by the CORE Organic II Funding Bodies, being partners of the FP7 ERA-Net project, CORE Organic II (Coordination of European Transnational Research in Organic Food and Farming systems, project no. 249667)

The Four Squares of Four Square

A poster presented by Anna Jones, Sophia Sharp, Arden Ensor, Andrew Floyd, Garrett Weakley and Luke Cross for the class Design of Everyday Things.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/gsp_projects_2019/1016/thumbnail.jp

The Seasonal Evolution of Albedo across Glaciers and the Surrounding Landscape of Taylor Valley, Antarctica

The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) of Antarctica are a polar desert ecosystem consisting of alpine glaciers, ice-covered lakes, streams, and expanses of vegetation-free rocky soil. Because average summer temperatures are close to 0 Cel., the MDV ecosystem in general, and glacier melt dynamics in particular, are both closely linked to the energy balance. A slight increase in incoming radiation or change in albedo can have large effects on the timing and volume of meltwater. However, the seasonal evolution or spatial variability of albedo in the valleys has yet to fully characterized. In this study, we aim to understand the drivers of landscape albedo change within and across seasons. To do so, a box with a camera, GPS, and shortwave radiometer was hung from a helicopter that flew transects four to five times a season along Taylor Valley. Measurements were repeated over three seasons. These data were coupled with incoming radiation measured at six meteorological stations distributed along the valley to calculate the distribution of albedo across individual glaciers, lakes, and soil surfaces. We hypothesized that albedo would decrease throughout the austral summer with ablation of snow patches and increasing sediment exposure on the glacier and lake surfaces. However, small snow events (\u3c 6mm water equivalent) coupled with ice whitening caused spatial and temporal variability of albedo across the entire landscape. Glaciers frequently followed a pattern of increasing albedo with increasing elevation, as well as increasing albedo moving from east to west laterally across the ablation zone. We suggest that spatial patterns of albedo are a function of landscape morphology trapping snow and sediment, longitudinal gradients in snowfall magnitude, and wind-driven snow redistribution from east to west along the valley. We also compare our albedo measurements to the MODIS albedo product and found that overall the data have reasonable agreement. The mismatch in spatial scale between these two datasets results in variability, which is reduced after a snow event due to albedo following valley-scale gradients of snowfall magnitude. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the spatial and temporal variability in albedo and the close coupling of climate and landscape response. This new understanding of landscape albedo can constrain landscape energy budgets, better predict meltwater generation on from MDV glaciers, and how these ecosystems will respond to changing climate at the landscape scale

Survey of CAMHS clinicians about their experience of remote consultation: brief report.

The Covid-19 crisis necessitated rapid adoption of remote consultations across National Health Service (NHS) child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). This study aimed to understand practitioners' experiences of rapid implementation of remote consultations across CAMHS in one NHS trust in the east of England. Data were collected through a brief questionnaire documenting clinicians' experiences following remote delivery of services. The questionnaire began before 'lockdown' and focused on assessment consultations (n = 102) as part of a planned move to virtual assessment. As the roll-out of remote consultations was extended at lockdown, we extended the questionnaire to include all remote clinical contacts (n = 202). Despite high levels of initial concern, clinicians' reports were positive overall; importantly, however, their experiences varied by team. When restrictions on face-to-face working are lifted, a blended approach of remote and face-to-face service delivery is recommended to optimise access and capacity while retaining effective and safe care.Non

Supporting patients with long term catheterisation to reduce risk of catheter-associated urinary tract infection

More than 90 000 of the UK adult population are estimated to have a urinary catheter, with 24% likely to develop symptoms of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI). The consequences of having a CAUTI are reduced quality of life, risk of hospitalisation and increased mortality. The authors undertook a literature review of primary research studies to identify how nurses could support patients to maintain effective catheter care to reduce the risk of CAUTI. Four themes emerged: education, knowledge, empowerment and communication. The authors therefore conclude that consistent knowledge, clear communication and treating patients as partners in the decision-making process can help build trust and allow empower patients. This will enable patients to make safe and healthy decisions about their catheter, particularly with regard to personal hygiene and optimal fluid intake, to reducing the risk of CAUTI

Combining 1,4-dimethoxybenzene, the major flower volatile of wild strawberry Fragaria vesca, with the aggregation pheromone of the strawberry blossom weevil Anthonomus rubi improves attraction

The aggregation pheromone of strawberry blossom weevil [Anthonomus rubi Herbst (Col.: Curculionidae)], a 1:4:1 blend of Grandlure I, II and racemic lavadulol, has been available for pest monitoring for several years but shows low attractancy. Attempts to control A. rubi using the pheromone alone were also unsuccessful. This paper reports the finding that addition of the major flower volatile from wild strawberry flowers [Fragaria vesca L. (Rosaceae)], 1,4-dimethoxybenzene (comprising 98% of the volatiles emitted from wild strawberry flowers), to the aggregation pheromone increased trap catches by over two fold compared to the pheromone alone. There was no significant difference between the response of overwintered or summer emerged adults. Field trials in 2007-2008 in central and southern Norway, Denmark and southern England used green funnel traps with white cross vanes for the evaluations. (-)-Germacrene D, previously shown to be emitted by plants in increased amounts in the presence of pheromone producing weevils, did not improve trap catches. Thus, the combined use of the aggregation pheromone and 1,4-dimethoxybenzene is promising for improved monitoring and possibly control of this important pest of strawberry