scholarly journals Who Cares About the Children of Prisoners in New Zealand? A Journey from Research to Practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Gordon
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
The Core ◽  
Children Of Prisoners ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

Before 2009, little research had been undertaken in New Zealand on the situation of the children of prisoners. Agencies such as Pillars Inc, a charity supporting these children, looking to undertake evidencebased practice, were forced to rely on models imported from other countries, especially the United States. This is despite the fact that New Zealand has a high level of imprisonment, at 193 per 100,000, approximately one third higher than Australia. In response to this, Pillars sought and received funding for a two-year research study and interviewed 368 men and women in nine prisons, and 72 families of prisoners (with the families, at least one caregiver, and sometimes a child, interviewed). Reports were produced on the findings in 2009 and 2010, and in 2011 a further report considered the implications for research and practice. As well, a practice manual was produced, along with resource kits for teachers and GPs. A large number of seminars and report-back meetings were held with government agencies, and a report was commissioned by Te Puni Kokiri, the Ministry of Māori Development, on the Māori data, which constituted half of the overall data. Subsequently, a number of further opportunities for research and dialogue have emerged. This article reports the core findings of the study: that the children of prisoners are not doing well, and that social support and justice agencies, whilst often having good intentions, contribute to this through poor, absent or inappropriate practices. The article concludes with a discussion of the impact of this research programme on policy and practice in New Zealand.

The Impact of the Nicaragua Case on Matters of Evidence and Fact-Finding

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-156
Author(s):  
PAUL S. REICHLER
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pulp Mills ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
The Government ◽  
Fact Finding ◽  
Day To Day Operations ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe Nicaragua case demonstrates the Court's competence in receiving and interpreting evidence, and in making reasoned findings of fact, even in the most complicated evidentiary context, as is often presented in cases involving use of force and armed conflict. The Court applied well-established standards for evaluating the conflicting evidence presented to it. In particular, the Court determined that greater weight should be given to statements against interest made by high-level government officials than to a state's self-serving declarations. The Court also determined that statements by disinterested witnesses with first-hand knowledge should receive greater weight than mere statements of opinion or press reports. In applying these guidelines, the Court found, correctly, that (i) the United States had used military and paramilitary force against Nicaragua both directly and indirectly, by organizing, financing, arming, and training the Contra guerrillas to attack Nicaragua; (ii) the evidence did not support a finding that the United States exercised direct control over the Contras’ day-to-day operations; and (iii) there was no evidence that Nicaragua supplied arms to guerrillas fighting against the government of El Salvador during the relevant period, or carried out an armed attack against that state. While Judge Schwebel's dissent criticized the last of these findings, in fact, the evidence fully supported the Court's conclusion. In subsequent decisions during the past 25 years, the Court has continued to rely on the approach to evidence first elaborated in the Nicaragua case and has continued to demonstrate its competence as a finder of fact, including in cases involving armed conflict (Bosnia Genocide) and complex scientific and technical issues (Pulp Mills).

scholarly journals Hungry People Prefer Larger Bodies and Objects: The Importance of Testing Boundary Effects

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamsin Saxton ◽  
Kristofor McCarty ◽  
Jasmine Caizley ◽  
Dane McCarrick ◽  
Thomas Victor Pollet
Keyword(s):  
Research Study ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Women's Bodies ◽  
Hunger Level ◽  
Insurance Hypothesis ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Security Hypothesis ◽  
Female Bodies ◽  
The Impact

Several lab-based studies have indicated that when people are hungry, they judge larger women’s bodies as more attractive, compared to when they are satiated. Thesesatiety-dependent judgements are assumed to provide explanatory power when it comes to the noted cross-cultural differences in attitudes towards women’s adiposity, whereby people who live in regions that are under greater nutritional stress tend to have more favourable attitudes towards bigger bodies. However, it is premature to assume that women’s bodies are the proper or actual domain of the satiety-dependent judgement shifts found within research study testing contexts until stimuli other than female bodies have also been tested: the research programme falls into the trap of confirmation bias unless we also seek out disconfirmatory evidence, and test the boundaries of the effects of hunger. Accordingly, we collected attractiveness judgements of female and male bodies manipulated to vary in size by varying level of adiposity, and objects manipulated to vary in size, from 186 participants who also reported their current hunger level. We found that larger sizes of stimuli in general, and women’s bodies in particular, especially when judged by women, were judged as more attractive by the hungrier participants. We discuss these patterns in the context of the Insurance Hypothesis, the Environmental Security Hypothesis, and the impact of hunger on acquisition.

scholarly journals Preliminary High-Level Modelling Estimates of Impacts of Denicotinisation on Smoking Prevalence in Aotearoa New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Wilson ◽  
Janet Hoek ◽  
Nhung Nghiem ◽  
Jennifer Summers ◽  
Leah Grout ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Mass Media ◽  
Smoking Prevalence ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Study Results ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTAimTo provide preliminary high-level modelling estimates of the impact of denicotinisation of tobacco on changes in smoking prevalence in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ).MethodsAn Excel spreadsheet was populated with smoking/vaping prevalence data from the NZ Health Survey and business-as-usual trends projected. Using various parameters from the literature (NZ trial data, NZ EASE-ITC Study results), we modelled the impact of denicotinisation of tobacco (with no other tobacco permitted for sale) out to 2025, the year of this country’s Smokefree Goal. Scenario 1 used estimates from a published expert knowledge elicitation process, and Scenario 2 considered the addition of extra mass media campaign and quitline support to the base case.ResultsWith the denicotinisation intervention, adult daily smoking prevalences were all estimated to decline to under 5% in 2025 for non-Māori and in one scenario for Māori (Indigenous population) (2.5% in Scenario 1). However, prevalence did not fall below five percent in the base case for Māori (7.7%) or with Scenario 2 (5.2%). In the base case, vaping was estimated to increase to 7.9% in the adult population in 2025, and up to 10.7% in one scenario (Scenario 1).ConclusionsThis preliminary, high-level modelling suggests a mandated denicotinisation policy for could provide a realistic chance of achieving the NZ Government’s Smokefree 2025 Goal. The probability of success would further increase if supplemented with other interventions such as mass media campaigns with Quitline support (especially if targeted for a predominantly Māori audience). Nevertheless, there is much uncertainty with these preliminary high-level results and more sophisticated modelling is highly desirable.

Beyond evidence-based policy and practice

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-36
Author(s):  
Mike Fisher
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This paper concerns the impact of social work research, particularly on practice and practitioners. It explores the politics of research and how this affects practice, the way that university-based research understands practice, and some recent developments in establishing practice research as an integral and permanent part of the research landscape. While focusing on implications for the UK, it draws on developments in research across Europe, North America and Australasia to explore how we can improve the relationship between research and practice.

Essays in Labour Economics: Evidence from Voluntary and Mandatory Wage Floors in the United States and New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jaime Lancaster
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Local Minimum ◽  
The United States ◽  
Living Wage ◽  
Earnings Growth ◽  
The Impact

<p>This thesis expands the literature on minimum and living wages by investigating local minimum wage ordinances and voluntary living wage programs. This thesis is presented as three distinct papers; the first explores a county-wide minimum wage ordinance in New Mexico, USA, while papers 2 and 3 explore New Zealand’s voluntary living wage program. In the United States, local minimum wage ordinances are growing in popularity, and research is emerging on their effects. Setting minimum wages at the local level is politically easier than enacting Federal legislation, and local minimum wages may be better targeted to local economic conditions. In my first chapter, “Local Minimum Wage Laws and Labour Market Outcomes: Evidence from New Mexico,” I use fixed effects and synthetic control analysis to uncover the effects of a local minimum wage law on the Albuquerque/Bernalillo region of New Mexico, with a focus on how provisions exempting tipped workers affect gains in earnings. My findings reveal that these provisions can lead to reductions in hourly wages for workers exempted from the minimum wage even when the labour market is not harmed overall. I find that the minimum wage ordinance did not reduce teen employment but that it served to increase the supply of teen labour leading to an increase in the teen unemployment rate.  The second and third papers in this thesis address the voluntary living wage program in New Zealand. In the first quantitative work on New Zealand’s living wage, I utilize data from Statistics New Zealand’s Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) to explore several facets of the living wage experience for employers and employees. In the second paper, “The New Zealand Living Wage: Earnings, Labour Costs and Turnover,” I investigate the characteristics of New Zealand living wage firms and use fixed effects to examine the impact of living wage certification on employment, worker earnings and turnover. My results provide some evidence for increases in labour costs and worker earnings following certification but find that this change is driven by changes in small firms that employ few workers. I find no evidence of a reduction in turnover.  In my final chapter, “Who Benefits from Living Wage Certification?” I investigate the distribution of benefits from the living wage based on an employees’ pre-treatment earnings, time of hire and whether or not they remained employed with the living wage firm. To do this, I utilize a worker-level panel dataset containing the full earnings history of all workers that were employed for a living wage or matched control firm between January 2014 and December 2015. I use fixed effects models containing fixed effects for worker, firm and month to compare patterns of earnings growth for workers hired before certification (‘pre-hires’) with those hired after certification (‘joiners’) and those who left their living wage job but remained in the workforce (‘leavers’). I also estimate the impact of living wage employment on the earnings of low-income workers. I find that the financial benefit of the living wage accrues almost exclusively to workers hired after certification and to low income workers. In addition, my analysis on the worker-level panel suggests that overall earnings growth in living wage firms lagged that in control firms over the observation period. This result is driven by relative declines in earnings for living wage workers in large firms and is attributed to increases in the published living wage rate that lags behind wage growth in the relevant segments of the job market.</p>

The impact of perceived relationship to ancestors on the association between self-transcendence and psychopathology: A cross-cultural examination

2022 ◽  
pp. 136346152110490
Author(s):  
Simon Hanseung Choi ◽  
Clayton Hoi-Yun McClintock ◽  
Elsa Lau ◽  
Lisa Miller
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Negatively Associated ◽  
Self Transcendence ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact ◽  
India And China

Self-transcendence has been associated with lower levels of psychopathology. Most studies of self-transcendence have focused on samples of Western participants, and used scales addressing such concepts as self-awareness and feelings of oneness with the larger universe. However, a common Eastern notion of transcendence—perception of ongoing relationships with ancestors—has not been studied. We conducted a cross-cultural investigation of the association between self-transcendence, perceived degree of relationship to ancestors and depression and anxiety in the United States (N = 1499), China (N =  3,150), and India (N = 863). Degrees of perceived relationship to ancestors differed across countries, with the highest rates in India and China, and lowest rates in the United States. Self-transcendence was negatively associated with risks for depression and anxiety in the United States. In India, self-transcendence was also negatively associated with risks for depression and anxiety, and a strong perceived relationship with ancestors had further protective benefit. In China, those with a high level of perceived relationship to ancestors and a high level of self-transcendence exhibited lower levels of psychopathology. Results suggest that measures of relationship to ancestors might be included in future cross-cultural studies of transcendence.

ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF CAMPUS LEED® BUILDINGS: IMPLICATIONS FOR GREEN BUILDING AND ENERGY POLICY

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 137-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Chen ◽  
Lauren Kleinman ◽  
Aparna Dial
Keyword(s):  
Green Building ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Leed Certification ◽  
Leed Buildings ◽  
High Level

Many university campuses in the United States are working toward their sustainable goals by adopting energy or green building policies, which require Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification for new construction and major renovation projects. Because LEED certification heavily relies on whole building energy simulation to demonstrate building energy performance improvement, it is often assumed that the finished buildings will achieve the predicted level of energy efficiency. This paper presents a study that compares the energy model predictions with actual energy performance of three LEED buildings on a university campus. The study shows that one of the campus LEED buildings consumed twice the predicted energy usage while causing a high level of occupant dissatisfaction. Further investigation reveals a variety of contributing factors for these issues and provides insights to improve green building policy and practice. Not only are the research findings important for this particular campus (Ohio State University) on its way to sustainability, they also have widespread ramifications for other university campuses.

Strategie Management in Eleven National Libraries: A Report on a Research Study

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Chalmers
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Strategic Management ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Information Environment ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
National Libraries

In 1996 the national libraries of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK and the USA took part in a study of their experiences with strategic management. A literature review had identified 15 key aspects of strategic management. Respondents were asked their views of the importance of each aspect, and how satisfied they were with the library's achievement of it. In every case the importance attached to the aspect was greater than the library's satisfaction with achievement. Each library was also asked to nominate from a checklist the reason or reasons why it had produced its first strategic document. The centrality of the digital information environment to the core functions of national libraries has been highlighted by the study.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and Music Therapists’ Employment, Service Delivery, Perceived Stress, and Hope: A Descriptive Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-166
Author(s):  
Sarah Gaddy ◽  
Ressa Gallardo ◽  
Shelley McCluskey ◽  
Leanna Moore ◽  
Alex Peuser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
The United States ◽  
Income Loss ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Employment Service ◽  
Contact Hours ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, which impacted music therapists in terms of employment, service delivery, and mental health. However, the extent of changes within the profession was unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the pandemic on the employment, service delivery, stress, and hope of music therapy professionals in the United States. Music therapists (N = 1,196) responded to a 51-item survey including questions related to employment and service delivery. The study also included the Adult Hope Scale and the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10). Results indicated that many music therapists experienced changes in their positions, including a decrease in client contact hours and an increase in using alternative services, such as telehealth. Changes in service hours and delivery were higher for individuals who worked in private practice than for other settings. Primary respondent concerns included being a carrier of COVID-19, being isolated from loved ones, and income loss. Compared with prior general population samples from the United States, respondents reported higher levels of hope, with a majority of respondents also reporting a high level of hope for the profession. Respondents also indicated a moderate level of perceived stress on the PSS-10. Open response comments provided additional insights into the situational stressors and feelings of hope at this time in the pandemic. The results of this study indicate that music therapists adapted to service delivery changes and continued to provide services to clients, despite the many difficulties faced during the pandemic.

Prisoners and their children: An innovative model of ‘whole family’ support

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 210-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Clancy ◽  
Mike Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Family Support ◽  
Emotional Stress ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
The Core ◽  
Family Approach ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Innovative Model ◽  
Core Elements ◽  
The Impact

The article reports key findings from an evaluation of ‘Invisible Walls Wales’ (IWW), a multi-agency ‘through the gate’ project in HMP Parc, South Wales, based on an innovative model of ‘whole family’ support for prisoners, their children and partners. It provides an overview of previous research on the impact of parental imprisonment on children and families, including financial hardship, emotional stress and risks of ‘intergenerational offending’. It outlines the core elements of the IWW model and the substantial infrastructure of family support facilities in the prison on which it was built. It summarises outcomes of the project for fathers, partners and children, and gives examples of how IWW’s ‘whole family’ approach is influencing policy and practice elsewhere. Reoffending rates are not yet available, but are anticipated to be low. However, the key strength of the project, it is argued, lies in its emphasis on the ‘whole family’ as the main beneficiary, rather than focusing narrowly on rehabilitation of the father.

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