Policy and service responses to rough sleeping among older people

Rough sleeping in Britain has a long history, and interventions have alternated between legal sanctions and humanitarian concern. This paper critically examines recent changes in homeless policies and services, with particular reference to the needs of older people who sleep rough. The characteristics and problems of the group are first described. Single homeless people were formerly accommodated in direct-access hostels but, from the 1970s, individualised rehabilitation and resettlement have spread. Most recently, services dedicated to older people have begun (although remain few and are unevenly provided). Their achievements are reviewed and drawn upon in formulating normative proposals of the appropriate service mix. The 1990s ‘Rough Sleepers Initiative’ and related programmes promoted a ‘social care market’ of not-for-profit organisations that compete for increased (but short-term) funds to provide services, and the new Labour government will build upon these changes and increase funds. Low tolerance towards the ‘social exclusion’ of homelessness is promised but unerringly constructed as exclusion from work; while rough sleeping is dubbed as anti-social, coercive approaches to achieve a two-thirds reduction are foreseen. The proposed target might stall the development of diverse and effective services, or reduce providers' capacity to combat the perversities of resource allocation. The overall prospects for the improvement and expansion of services to provide significant help to single older homeless people are uncertain

Youth opportunity spaces in low-emission dairy development in Kenya: Research findings and policy recommendations

The dairy sector in Kenya produces over 4 billion liters of milk per year and supports 1.3 million producer households with a vital contribution to incomes and nutrition. However, total national production fails to meet demand. There is a need for increased efforts to support value chain development growth in the sector. In addition to the potential of dairy to support economic growth, the dairy sector is receiving substantial attention as a pathway to achieve Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), commitments to international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensities. Intensification of production would reduce emission intensities by generating a higher volume of milk per unit of GHG emission. However, Kenya’s NDCs specify that the environmental target of GHG emissions reduction should be pursued in accordance with its broader sustainable development agenda. Low-emission development has significant implications for reaching International Sustainable Development Goals; specifically, Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG #8) and Gender Equality (SDG #5)

Examining gender differences in young men and women’s goals for a technology-driven weight loss intervention

Background Emerging adults (EA) are at high risk for weight gain and obesity yet are underrepresented in behavioral weight loss (BWL) programs and fare worse than their older counterparts when they join these programs. Further, even within BWL programs adapted specifically for this population, young men are particularly challenging to recruit, representing less than 20% of samples in recent trials. One hypothesis for the poor recruitment of men is that men’s goals for a weight loss program are not described in recruitment messages for these studies. Understanding whether men and women’s personal goals for participating in a weight loss program could be a key way to tailor recruitment messaging. As such, the objective of this study is to compare young men and women’s personal goals for a BWL program. Methods Participants (N=382; 21.9+1.2 years; 83% female; BMI=33.5+4.9 kg/m2) were recruited for a technology-driven weight loss intervention adapted for this age group. At baseline, participants ranked their top 3 personal goals from a list of 15 areas in which they wanted to see change during the program. The most commonly reported areas (n=8) were coded as yes or no if the goal was ranked as one of their top 3. Chi-square tests were conducted to compare men and women on the most commonly reported goals for the program; using Bonferroni correction to adjust for multiple comparisons (p\u3c.006). Results Overall, the most commonly reported areas for wanting to change in the program were: weight (62.7%), physical fitness (43.7%), body fat percentage (25.7%), body shape (25.1%), energy level (24.1%), clothing size (19.6%), confidence (18.8%), and self-esteem (18.0%). Weight was the most commonly ranked as a top goal (43.5%), followed by physical fitness (11.3%) and body fat percentage (8.9%). No significant differences were found between men and women for personal goals. Conclusion Emerging adults have a desire to lose weight and body fat, as well as improve physical fitness when it comes to personal goals for a weight loss program. While there were no gender differences in goals for a weight loss program, this could be due to enrollment of a treatment seeking sample. Coupled with differential enrollment of young men, it is possible the results may not be representative of non-treatment seeking young men. More research is needed to understand potential gender differences in goals for a weight loss program to improve recruitment messaging targeting young men.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1118/thumbnail.jp

Development of Heterogeneous Photosensitized Transition Metal Oxide Water-Splitting Catalysts on Silica Support

The research presented in this manuscript describes the development of photosensitized inexpensive catalysts based on readily available materials. The investigation covers synthesis and characterization of photosensitizers based on porphyrins, mechanical and thermal coating of solid support with semiconducting transition metal oxides, photosensitization of the semiconducting layer, and characterization of the photoelectrochemical properties displayed by the new materials. The process of water oxidation is of primary interest here, with little emphasis put on reduction of protons to gaseous hydrogen. Photoelectrochemically produced protons serve as a probe of effectiveness of the catalysts. Several systems are described, and two catalysts are identified as the most efficient

Use of a large jet transport as an inflight dynamic simulator

Modified jet transport used as inflight dynamic simulator for supersonic transport low speed approach and landing characteristic