A study of the relationship of anesthesia induction to factual preparation given by the parents to children scheduled for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

Policy Reform in Sub Saharan Africa

Agricultural adjustment policies in sub Saharan Africa have not delivered substantial increases in agricultural growth. We examine alternative explanations for this and argue that transitions and thresholds in agricultural growth processes are not sufficiently recognised and understood in dominant policy discourses. This is a particular problem with market failures for goods and services with private good characteristics and we need a greater emphasis on and understanding of the causes and nature of coordination failures which lead to these market failures. This paper examines core features of poor rural areas, the nature of coordination problems faced by different potential economic actors, the impacts of these problems on markets and economic development, and the ways that these have been addressed or ignored in different policies and policy approaches in Asia and Africa in the last 40 years. We conclude by drawing out the implications for policies seeking to promote pro-poor economic growth in poor rural areas today.Agricultural and Food Policy,

The impact on and responses of viewers to product placement: a study of mainstream films.

Product placement is a promotional tool within the discipline of marketing whereby branded items feature in entertainment vehicles such as video games, television programmes, stage plays, music videos, books and films. This thesis investigates this practice in relation to mainstream, commercial films. The nature of this research gives it a multidisciplinary approach across two key themes, namely Celebrity Status and Product Placement - with Marketing Communications being the element that links them. Determining which product placements in films make the most impact upon consumers for the commercial benefit of the stakeholders is, primarily, this focus of this thesis. In total eighty-six individuals were interviewed, and the researcher used a qualitative approach, informed with a grounded theory methodology. This yielded an abundance of responses with participants providing a wealth of mixed and, at times, contradictory feedback relating to the acceptance, rejection and ethical concerns regarding product placements. As part of the research process, close attention was paid to the attraction and fascination that actors hold for research participants and how this celebrity-focus, combined with having an audience in a relaxed and receptive frame of mind, informs outcomes in terms of brand recall, enhanced brand values and eventual sales. The study concludes that film placements remain an elusive practice to assess despite it being a long-established marketing technique that has a growing, multi-billion dollar annual spend. This thesis provides insights into the practice and suggests that key variables such as the placement presentation styles and the diversity of consumers, make the commercial assessment of placements hard to determine. Thus, any measures of the success of product placement in mainstream films appear to be limited and difficult to predict

INSTITUTIONAL DIMENSIONS OF TRADE LIBERALISATION AND POVERTY

Trade policy liberalisation requires institutional change, in the sense of a change in the rules of the game. The question is whether these changes produce "superior institutions" judged in terms of a reduction of transactions costs; improved coordination; stronger strategic commitment to investing in needed specific assets; and allocative efficiency. In conventional approaches to the analysis of liberalisation, changed institutional arrangements are studied, but they tend to be considered in the category of "practical details": important but not especially intellectually interesting. In contrast, this paper argues for a parallel approach to the study of the effects of liberalisation on the rural poor, in which institutional matters are central. A broad range of institutional issues is considered, informed by a theoretical framework provided by the various strands within institutional economics. The framework set out and discussed leads to the contention that smallholder agriculture in poor countries needs coordinated market economy (CME) type institutions if it is to develop, at least at the earlier stages. Ideally, these would be based on deliberative institutions, working horizontally inside a sector, and also vertically along the supply chain. It is argued that the way forward is likely to involve a rethinking of the role of the state (at sub-national, national and international - aid donor - levels) and of the roles of producer organisations and other stakeholder (including trader) associations. The aim must be to find a way in which the state and other powerful actors can initiate deliberative processes and take a lead in encouraging appropriate asset specific investments, while at the same time planning to fade into the background as initial success is achieved. These conclusions challenge conventional analysis of trade policy liberalisation in poor countries and also challenge institutional specialists to provide insights, ideally quantifiable, into the consequences of those liberalisation policies which drive changes in such features as "non-standard institutional arrangements"; non-market coordination; and the roles of government.Food Security and Poverty, International Relations/Trade,

Market and Coordination Failures in Poor Rural Economies: Policy Implications for Agricultural and Rural Development

This paper argues that the disappointing outcomes of adjustment policies in poor rural economies, principally in sub-Saharan Africa, can be partly attributed to weaknesses in the neo-classical theory which underlies these polices and from associated failures to recognise structural changes (or transitions) in growing agricultural economies. After a brief description of agricultural policy changes in sub Saharan Africa, the mixed achievements of market liberalisation policies are explained using new institutional economic arguments regarding inherent difficulties in economic coordination in poor economies, difficulties which markets themselves cannot overcome. A novel framework is put forward for understanding coordination failure and integrating it with other causes of under-development notably low levels of technical and institutional development and poor governance. The paper concludes by considering the implications of these arguments for development policies in different sub-Saharan economies.development, coordination, markets, institutions, Marketing, O12, O17, Q12,

The Overture! Then Is Here-And-Now: Hindsight Is Twenty, Twenty?

My existence and presence as a Black woman and graduate scholar in music therapy have allowed me to share my experience of racial trauma and oppression in the hallways of GCSU’s music therapy program. Autoethnography is the method I use to write my thesis on the relationships between Blackness, pedagogy, and music therapy. Thus, I perform an evocative autoethnographic study that allows me to share my personal experience of racial trauma and oppression within the culture of music therapy and to critique the larger social structures of whiteness that disenfranchise and dominate me and other Black student music therapists (SMTs). This approach threads Critical Race Theory (CRT)-Multiculturalism-Social Justice as a lens to analyze my racialized experiences. It also centers my voice and shows the adverse effects of encountering systems of oppression, ideologies, and theories in academia. I use my voice to express my identity, challenge the dominant narratives, and advocate for social justice. I also describe how discriminatory acts, microaggressions, and both covert and overt racism affected my mental health and well-being. The manifestations of my unique experiences resulted in having internalizing problems of low self-esteem, high blood pressure, overeating, frequent headaches, anxiety, and sleep disturbances (Cenat, 2023). I have two research questions that guide my study, related to the impact and consequences of racial trauma on my experiences at GCSU. Four themes emerged from this study, which were: Silenced and Invisible, Anti-Blackness, Erasure, and I Belong Here! As a Black woman in music therapy, I express my desire for a voice and authenticity. I am critical of the current music therapy curriculum at GCSU, which I find to be rooted in Eurocentrism and exclusion, and irrelevant to the needs and issues of marginalized groups. I also criticize the lack of commitment and action from the institution and the program to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. My findings support a call for music therapy programs to adopt a pedagogy that uses a CRT-multicultural-social justice lens. This pedagogy would address the various forms of power, privilege, and oppression that exist in the world, challenge the white supremacist ideology that pervades the music therapy profession, and value the diversity and agency of Black SMTs and their clients

Discussion about the effects of PPE and COVID-19 on menopausal women is long overdue.

The NHS employer's website has guidance for HR departments to produce policies on menopause in the workplace. However, despite the added pressure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, little attention appears to have been paid to the impact of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on menopausal women. Wearing protective clothing can exacerbate heat stress which can worsen several of the symptoms, including hot flushes. The use of PPE has increased dramatically since March 2020. Yet, nearly two years into the pandemic, there appears to be little done to address this issue

Menopause and personal protective equipment: how does this meet acceptable working conditions?

Menopause and the workplace has finally become a trending topic. Specific societies, agencies, charities and trade unions, such as the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS), the British Menopause Society (BMS), the Chartered Institute for of Personnel and DevelopmentProfessional Development (CIPD), the Daisy Network, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have all pioneered for women's rights concerning working during the menopause. The results have been slow in coming, but currently managing the menopause in the workplace is now visible in the Human Resource (HR) departments of many companies and organizsations. The European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) has been a leading light on this issue, with a position statement in 2016 and most recently in 2021 with global consensus recommendations on menopause in the workplace. This has been accompanied by: a Menopause Charter for Employers; a self-assessment tool for managers; and the launch of the first World Menopause and Work Day, on 7 September 2021