Understanding IT and Social Transformation: Development and Illustration of a Conceptual Scheme

It is widely accepted that IT is a key factor in the major social transformations taking place in the late twentieth century, but the nature of this link is the subject of dispute, and remains poorly understood. Better theory is needed to increase our understanding in this area, and in this paper, we offer a contribution. Drawing from the work of the sociologist Anthony Giddens, a conceptual scheme is developed which links the globalizing tendencies of modern society to associated transformations at the level of the individual. IT is deeply implicated in these changes, and the role of IT in social transformation is illustrated in the paper using empirical work on the transforming potential of geographical information systems for forest management in India. We emphasize the importance of the links between IT and social transformation, and conclude with a discussion of the broader applicability and limitations of the conceptual scheme

ICTs, Globalization, and Local Diversity

This paper is based on a panel discussion at the 2002 International Conference on Information Systems in Barcelona. Three panellists responded to a set of questions on the meaning of the term globalization to them, and the role of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in globalization processes. The panellists also highlighted the importance of local diversity in understanding globalization and ICTs, drawing from their varied research in contexts such as western country financial markets, health systems in Guatemala, and e-commerce in Mexico. A further output of the panel, and this paper, is the identification of key research questions and theories for future IS research in this important area

Establishment guide for sub-tropical grasses : key steps to success

Sub-tropical perennial grasses are now widely sown in the Northern Agricultural region (NAR) and on the south coast of Western Australia (WA). Since 2000, more than 50 000 ha have been sown to perennial grasses in the NAR and about 150 000 ha on the south coast, mainly kikuyu.https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/bulletins/1034/thumbnail.jp

Exploring the Use of Body Worn Cameras in Acute Mental Health Wards: a mixed-method evaluation of a pilot intervention

Background: Body worn cameras (BWC) are mobile audio and video capture devices that can be secured to clothing allowing the wearer to record some of what they see and hear. This technology is being introduced in a range of healthcare settings as part of larger violence reduction strategies aimed at reducing incidents of aggression and violence on inpatient wards, however limited evidence exists to understand if this technology achieves such goals.Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of BWCs on two inpatient mental health wards, including the impact on incidents, the acceptability to staff and patients, the sustainability of the resource use and ability to manage the use of BWCs on these wards. Methods: The study used a mixed-methods design comparing quantitative measures including ward activity and routinely collected incident data at three time-points before during and after the pilot implementation of BWCs on one acute ward and one psychiatric intensive care unit, alongside pre and post pilot qualitative interviews with patients and staff, analysed using a framework based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Results: Results showed no clear relationship between the use of BWCs and rates or severity of incidents on either ward, with limited impact of using BWCs on levels of incidents. Qualitative findings noted mixed perceptions about the use of BWCs and highlighted the complexity of implementing such technology as a violence reduction method within a busy healthcare setting Furthermore, the qualitative data collected during this pilot period highlighted the potential systemic and contextual factors such as low staffing that may impact on the incident data presented. Conclusion: This study sheds light on the complexities of using such BWCs as a tool for ‘maximising safety’ on mental health settings. The findings suggest that BWCs have a limited impact on levels of incidents on wards, something that is likely to be largely influenced by the process of implementation as well as a range of contextual factors. As a result, it is likely that while BWCs may see successes in one hospital site this is not guaranteed for another site as such factors will have a considerable impact on efficacy, acceptability, and feasibility. <br/

Environmental Effects of Sediment Transport Alteration and Impacts on Protected Species: Edgartown Tidal Energy Project

The Islands of MarthaâÃÂÃÂs Vineyard and Nantucket are separated from the Massachusetts mainland by Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds; water between the two islands flows through Muskeget Channel. The towns of Edgartown (on MarthaâÃÂÃÂs Vineyard) and Nantucket recognize that they are vulnerable to power supply interruptions due to their position at the end of the power grid, and due to sea level rise and other consequences of climate change. The tidal energy flowing through Muskeget Channel has been identified by the Electric Power Research Institute as the strongest tidal resource in Massachusetts waters. The Town of Edgartown proposes to develop an initial 5 MW (nameplate) tidal energy project in Muskeget Channel. The project will consist of 14 tidal turbines with 13 providing electricity to Edgartown and one operated by the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth for research and development. Each turbine will be 90 feet long and 50 feet high. The electricity will be brought to shore by a submarine cable buried 8 feet below the seabed surface which will landfall in Edgartown either on Chappaquiddack or at Katama. Muskeget Channel is located between MarthaâÃÂÃÂs Vineyard and Nantucket. Its depth ranges between 40 and 160 feet in the deepest portion. It has strong currents where water is transferred between Nantucket Sound and the Atlantic Ocean continental shelf to the south. This makes it a treacherous passage for navigation. Current users of the channel are commercial and recreational fishing, and cruising boats. The US Coast Guard has indicated that the largest vessel passing through the channel is a commercial scallop dragger with a draft of about 10 feet. The tidal resource in the channel has been measured by the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and the peak velocity flow is approximately 5 knots. The technology proposed is the helical Gorlov-type turbine positioned with a horizontal axis that is positively buoyant in the water column and held down by anchors. This is the same technology proposed by Ocean Renewable Power Company in the Western Passage and Cobscook Bay near Eastport Maine. The blades rotate in two directions capturing the tides energy both during flood and ebb tides. The turbines will be anchored to the bottom and suspended in the water column. Initial depth of the turbines is expected to be about 25 feet below the surface to avoid impacting navigation while also capturing the strongest currents. The Town of Edgartown was initially granted a Preliminary Permit by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on March 1, 2008, and has recently received a second permit valid through August 2014. The Preliminary Permit gives Edgartown the exclusive right to apply for a power generation license for power generated from the hydrokinetic energy in the water flowing in this area. Edgartown filed a Draft Pilot License Application with FERC on February 1, 2010 and an Expanded Environmental Notification Form with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office at the same time. It expects to file a Final License Application in late 2013. Harris Miller Miller & Hanson (HMMH) of Burlington Massachusetts is acting as the Project Manager for the Town of Edgartown and collaborating with other partners of the project including the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth's Marine Renewable Energy Center and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. HMMH was awarded a grant under the Department of Energy's Advanced Water Program to conduct marine science and hydrokinetic site-specific environmental studies for projects actively seeking a FERC License. HMMH, on behalf of the Town, is managing this comprehensive study of the marine environment in Muskeget Channel and potential impacts of the tidal project on indicator species and habitats. The University of Massachusetts School of Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) conducted oceanographic studies of tidal currents, tide level, benthic habitat, and potential for biofouling and foundation scouring. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, cooperating with SMAST, developed an oceanographic model to predict changes in sediment transport as a result of the proposed tidal energy project. Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies prepared background material on protected species - including whales, seals, and sea turtles - in the project area and implemented an initial tagging program to record location specific information on seals and sea turtles. HMMH communicated research plans and findings with local stakeholder groups, state and federal resource agency staff, and the ocean power industry. The information is being used to prepare environmental permit applications and obtain approvals for project construction

Subsoil contraints and their management: Overview from five years of R&D

Subsoil constraints cost the grains industry more than $1.6b in lost production each year. Diagnosing and mapping subsoil constraints (SSC) was achieved at a shire scale using the DPIRD soils database and historic surveys

Sheep Updates 2015 - Ravensthorpe

This session covers fourteen papers from different authors: 1. The Sheep Industry Business Innovation project, Bruce Mullan, Sheep Industry Development Director, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 2. Western Australian sheep stocktake, Kate Pritchett and Kimbal Curtis, Research Officers, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 3. Wool demand and supply - short term volatility, long term opportunities, Chris Wilcox, Principal of Poimena Analysis 4. Lifetime management for maternal ewes, Mike Hyder, Research Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 5. National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) for sheep and goats - what is the NLIS database? Leigh Sonnermann, Biosecurity Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 6. Myths, Facts and the role of animal welfare in farming, Lynne Bradshaw, president, RSPCA WA 7. Latest research and development on breech strike prevention, Geoff Lindon, Manager Productivity and Animal Welfare, AWI 8. Lamb Survival Initiative and 100% Club, Katherine Davies, Development Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 9. How to boost your lamb survival, Joe Young, Sheep Consultant, R.B. Young and Son 10. Using genomic technology to increase genetic gain, Stephen Lee, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide and Sheep Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) & Ian Robertson, Merinotech WA 11. Economics of feed lotting - to feed-lot or not?, Lucy Anderton, Economist, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 12. Anameka and other shrubs to fill feed gaps, Hayley Norman CSIRO & Ed Barrett-Lennard UWA & Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 13. Sheep industry traineeships - encouraging a new generation of farmers, Jackie Jarvis, Consultant, Agrifood Labour & Skills 14. Opportunities and challenges facing youth in the sheep and wool industry, Ben Patrick, Yarrawonga Stu

Sheep Updates 2015 - Katanning

This session covers fourteen papers from different authors: 1. The Sheep Industry Business Innovation project, Bruce Mullan, Sheep Industry Development Director, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 2. Western Australian sheep stocktake, Kate Pritchett and Kimbal Curtis, Research Officers, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 3. Wool demand and supply - short term volatility, long term opportunities, Chris Wilcox, Principal of Poimena Analysis 4. Lifetime management for maternal ewes, Mike Hyder, Research Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 5. National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) for sheep and goats - what is the NLIS database? Leigh Sonnermann, Biosecurity Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 6. Myths, Facts and the role of animal welfare in farming, Lynne Bradshaw, president, RSPCA WA 7. Latest research and development on breech strike prevention, Geoff Lindon, Manager Productivity and Animal Welfare, AWI 8. Lamb Survival Initiative and 100% Club, Katherine Davies, Development Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 9. How to boost your lamb survival, Joe Young, Sheep Consultant, R.B. Young and Son 10. Using genomic technology to increase genetic gain, Stephen Lee, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide and Sheep Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) & Ian Robertson, Merinotech WA 11. Economics of feed lotting - to feed-lot or not?, Lucy Anderton, Economist, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 12. Anameka and other shrubs to fill feed gaps, Hayley Norman CSIRO & Ed Barrett-Lennard UWA & Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 13. Sheep industry traineeships - encouraging a new generation of farmers, Jackie Jarvis, Consultant, Agrifood Labour & Skills 14. Opportunities and challenges facing youth in the sheep and wool industry, Ben Patrick, Yarrawonga Stu

Small-scale societies exhibit fundamental variation in the role of intentions in moral judgment

Intent and mitigating circumstances play a central role in moral and legal assessments in large-scale industrialized societies. Although these features of moral assessment are widely assumed to be universal, to date, they have only been studied in a narrow range of societies. We show that there is substantial cross-cultural variation among eight traditional small-scale societies (ranging from hunter-gatherer to pastoralist to horticulturalist) and two Western societies (one urban, one rural) in the extent to which intent and mitigating circumstances influence moral judgments. Although participants in all societies took such factors into account to some degree, they did so to very different extents, varying in both the types of considerations taken into account and the types of violations to which such considerations were applied. The particular patterns of assessment characteristic of large-scale industrialized societies may thus reflect relatively recently culturally evolved norms rather than inherent features of human moral judgment

Lamotrigine for people with borderline personality disorder: a RCT

Background: No drug treatments are currently licensed for the treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Despite this, people with this condition are frequently prescribed psychotropic medications and often with considerable polypharmacy. Preliminary studies have indicated that mood stabilisers may be of benefit to people with BPD. Objective: To examine the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of lamotrigine for people with BPD. Design: A two-arm, double-blind, placebo-controlled individually randomised trial of lamotrigine versus placebo. Participants were randomised via an independent and remote web-based service using permuted blocks and stratified by study centre, the severity of personality disorder and the extent of hypomanic symptoms. Setting: Secondary care NHS mental health services in six centres in England. Participants: Potential participants had to be aged ≥ 18 years, meet diagnostic criteria for BPD and provide written informed consent. We excluded people with coexisting psychosis or bipolar affective disorder, those already taking a mood stabiliser, those who spoke insufficient English to complete the baseline assessment and women who were pregnant or contemplating becoming pregnant. Interventions: Up to 200 mg of lamotrigine per day or an inert placebo. Women taking combined oral contraceptives were prescribed up to 400 mg of trial medication per day. Main outcome measures: Outcomes were assessed at 12, 24 and 52 weeks after randomisation. The primary outcome was the total score on the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder (ZAN-BPD) at 52 weeks. The secondary outcomes were depressive symptoms, deliberate self-harm, social functioning, health-related quality of life, resource use and costs, side effects of treatment and adverse events. Higher scores on all measures indicate poorer outcomes. Results: Between July 2013 and October 2015 we randomised 276 participants, of whom 195 (70.6%) were followed up 52 weeks later. At 52 weeks, 49 (36%) of those participants prescribed lamotrigine and 58 (42%) of those prescribed placebo were taking it. At 52 weeks, the mean total ZAN-BPD score was 11.3 [standard deviation (SD) 6.6] among those participants randomised to lamotrigine and 11.5 (SD 7.7) among those participants randomised to placebo (adjusted mean difference 0.1, 95% CI –1.8 to 2.0; p = 0.91). No statistically significant differences in secondary outcomes were seen at any time. Adjusted costs of direct care for those prescribed lamotrigine were similar to those prescribed placebo. Limitations: Levels of adherence in this pragmatic trial were low, but greater adherence was not associated with better mental health. Conclusions: The addition of lamotrigine to the usual care of people with BPD was not found to be clinically effective or provide a cost-effective use of resources. Future work: Future research into the treatment of BPD should focus on improving the evidence base for the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of non-pharmacological treatments to help policy-makers make better decisions about investing in specialist treatment services