Suchergebnisse

Many studies on legal consciousness suggest that the poor and working class are fundamentally excluded or disadvantaged, having a different legal consciousness from others that is 'against the law' or cynical and dismissive about the law. My study is the first to examine polyvocality and change in legal consciousness among the poor. The women in my study are disadvantaged, to be sure, and face barriers to learning and mastering the law. But the interviews conducted for this study revealed that a remarkable shift in legal consciousness could take place as a result of the interface of perceptions, experience, and interaction with legal services, courts, and other members of the community. In this chapter, I develop a theoretical framework of legal entitlement in order to provide a more nuanced understanding of the variations and changes in legal consciousness among low-income mothers as well as how these differences impact the ways in which marginalized group members come to develop and exercise legal consciousness and also to mobilize the law. [Copyright Elsevier Ltd.]

The importance of good governance, specifically the presence of accountability among developing countries in managing development aid from official aid agencies, has been significantly recognized. The Republic of the Philippines has been struggling to address the issue of corruption not only in aid management but also in the government as a whole. The contribution of the accountability systems of a recipient government to address corruption in aid management and to make aid more effective is analyzed here.

Energy policies and public health are intimately intertwined. In New York City, a series of policies, known as the Clean Heat Program (CHP), were designed to reduce air pollution by banning residual diesel fuel oils, #6 in 2015 and #4 by 2030. This measure is expected to yield environmental and public health benefits over time. While there is near-universal compliance with the #6 ban, a substantial number of buildings still use #4. In this paper, geographic analysis and qualitative interviews with stakeholders were used to interrogate the CHP's policy implementation in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx. A total of 1724 (53%) of all residential residual fuel burning buildings are located in this region. Stakeholders reflected mostly on the need for the program, and overall reactions to its execution. Major findings include that government partnerships with non-governmental organizations were effectively employed. However, weaknesses with the policy were also identified, including missed opportunities for more rapid transitions away from residual fuels, unsuccessful outreach efforts, cost-prohibitive conversion opportunities, and (the perception of) a volatile energy market for clean fuels. Ultimately, this analysis serves as a case study of a unique and innovative urban policy initiative to improve air quality and, consequently, public health.

New York City has had a long history of implementing local policies to reduce air pollution. Enacted as a part of PlaNYC, the Clean Heat policies aim to lower wintertime ambient air pollution by phasing out dirty No. 6 heating fuel oil and transitioning to comparatively cleaner No. 4, No. 2, or natural gas. This study evaluates the impacts of policies on ambient air pollution and, given that people spend the majority of their time inside, importantly, indoor air pollution. Using a natural experiment, we evaluate the effects of the policies by measuring average two-week levels of indoor and outdoor black carbon (BC) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in 48 upper Manhattan apartments in successive winter heating seasons before and after mandated fuel transition. We failed to observe systematic improvements in indoor BC and PM2.5 concentrations in follow-up. However, outdoor levels of PM2.5 did improve, with statistical differences observed among buildings converting to the cleanest fuels. Non-statistical improvements were observed for outdoor BC. However, when accounting for meteorological differences, apartment characteristics, and behavioral patterns that may have influenced air pollution measurements, these differences were not significant. The study results have important policy and equity implications considering the differential improvements in air quality by conversion to No. 4 oil as compared to the cleaner No. 2 oil and natural gas.

O arroz (Oryza sativa L.) é o segundo cereal mais cultivado no mundo. Essa cultura pode ser impactada por diferentes estresses abióticos. Quando se utiliza o sistema de cultivo irrigado por inundação, a toxidez por ferro pode reduzir a produtividade do arroz. Este estresse causa sintomas como diminuição no comprimento e massa seca da parte aérea e raiz, manchas marrons nas folhas e redução na concentração de clorofila. Uma das estratégias para reduzir as perdas ocasionadas pelo excesso de ferro é a criação de cultivares tolerantes. Dentre as abordagens empregadas pelos melhoristas está a indução de mutações. Neste estudo, foram caracterizados mutantes de arroz para tolerância à toxidez por ferro no início do estádio vegetativo. Foram avaliados 92 genótipos mutantes em geração M8, derivados da cultivar BRS Querência submetida ao tratamento com etil metanosulfonato, após exposição ao estresse por ferro em cultivo hidropônico. A indução de mutação criou variabilidade genética para tolerância à toxidez por ferro. Sob esse estresse os mutantes M12, M51 e M81 demonstraram desempenho superior para todas características morfológicas avaliadas e menor incidência de bronzeamento, evidenciando maior tolerância. Além desses, outros mutantes também foram superiores para a maioria das variáveis estudadas, podendo ser considerados promissores. Esses genótipos podem ser inseridos em blocos de cruzamento para o desenvolvimento de cultivares de arroz tolerantes a este estresse abiótico.

Background: HIV prevalence in Puerto Rico is nearly twice that of the mainland United States, a level that was substantially fueled by injection drug use. Puerto Rico has a longstanding history of health provision by the public sector that directly affects how HIV and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services are provided and funded. As part of pre-implementation research for a randomized trial of a community-level intervention to enhance HIV care access for substance users in San Juan, Puerto Rico, we sought to understand the structural and health policy environment for providing HIV and SUD treatments. Methods: We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 8) with government and program administrators in English and Spanish. Data were analyzed to identify dominant and recurrent themes. Results: Participants discussed how lack of integration among medical and mental health service providers, lack of public transportation, and turnover in appointed government officials were barriers to integrated HIV and SUD treatment. Federal funding for support services for HIV patients was a facilitator. The Affordable Care Act has limited impact in Puerto Rico because provisions related to health insurance reform do not apply to U.S. territories. Discussion and Conclusions: Implications for intervention design include the need to provide care coordination for services from multiple providers, who are often physically separated and working in different reimbursement systems, and the potential for mobile and patient transportation services to bridge these gaps. Continuous interaction with political leaders is needed to maintain current facilitators. These findings are relevant as the current economic crisis in Puerto Rico affects funding, and may be relevant for other settings with substance use-driven epidemics.