A Systematic Review of the Health Impacts of Mass Earth Movements (Landslides)

Background. Mass ground movements (commonly referred to as ‘landslides’) are common natural hazards that can have significant economic, social and health impacts. They occur as single events, or as clusters, and are often part of ‘disaster’ chains, occurring secondary to, or acting as the precursor of other disaster events. Whilst there is a large body of literature on the engineering and geological aspects of landslides, the mortality and morbidity caused by landslides is less well documented. As far as we are aware, this is the first systematic review to examine the health impacts of landslides. Methods. The MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, SCOPUS databases and the Cochrane library were systematically searched to identify articles which considered the health impacts of landslides. Case studies, case series, primary research and systematic reviews were included. News reports, editorials and non-systematic reviews were excluded. Only articles in English were considered. The references of retrieved papers were searched to identify additional articles. Findings. 913 abstracts were reviewed and 143 full text articles selected for review. A total of 27 papers reporting research studies were included in the review (25 from initial search, 1 from review of references and 1 from personal correspondence). We found a limited number of studies on the physical health consequences of landslides. Only one study provided detail of the causes of mortality and morbidity in relation a landslide event. Landslides cause significant mental health impacts, in particular the prevalence of PTSD may be higher after landslides than other types of disaster, though these studies tend to be older with only 3 papers published in the last 5 years, with 2 being published 20 years ago, and diagnostic criteria have changed since they were produced. Discussion. We were disappointed at the small number of relevant studies, and the generally poor documentation of the health impacts of landslides. Mental health impacts were better documented, though some of the studies are now quite old. Further research on the health impacts of landslides needs to be undertaken to support those responding to landslide disasters and to aid disaster risk mitigation advocacy

Growing up in the new age

This issue of Fieldstudy was published as part of the Growing up in the New Age project. It features the archive photographs of Dave Walkling, made in a 1970s' squatted house in South London and at the Kirkdale Free School. It also presents the photographs of Marjolaine Ryley, who was a child in living in the collective housing photographed by Walkling. Ryley has collected Walkling's photographs, and her own new series is a mediation on history and memory

Evaluating a rugby sport intervention programme for young offenders

Purpose: Interventions intended to aid offender re-entry, rehabilitation and desistence based around specific sports and championed by sporting institutions have been introduced in custodial settings. Though research evaluating these is positive (Meek, 2012), conclusions are often hampered by the absence of control groups in such work. This study will evaluate the Saracens “Get Onside” rugby based intervention at HMPYOI Feltham, while employing a non-randomised control group. Design and Methodology: In total 24 young offenders took part. Those in the treatment condition experienced a ten week course which included a range of activities leading to accredited awards, exercises in functional skills in literacy/numeracy and 72 hours of rugby sessions. Those in the control condition were matched on key static factors, crime attitudes and aggression. Self-reported measures of pro-crime attitudes, aggression, self-esteem, and impulsivity were taken once before the start, once during, and at the end of the course for both groups. Findings: As predicted, self-reported scores measuring attitudes towards aggression and crime did differ significantly across groups, with those experiencing the intervention showing more positive values by the end of treatment compared with others. However, measures of impulsiveness and self-esteem showed no change. Limitations: Revisions are suggested in respect of both the self-esteem and impulsivity measures, and future work needs better control over the match between treatment and comparison groups. Originality/Value: This paper shows that concerns over the potentially iatrogenic effects of contact sport interventions may be misplaced, and the benefits of sporting interventions are replicated in a between groups design.Peer reviewe

Afro-Caribbean Immigrant Faculty Experiences in the American Academy: Voices of an Invisible Black Population

Afro-Caribbean immigrants have been an integral part of the history and shaping of the United States since the early 1900s. This current study explores the experiences of five Afro-Caribbean faculty members at traditionally White institutions of higher education. Despite the historical presence and influence of Afro-Caribbean communities and the efforts within education systems to address the needs of Afro-Caribbean constituents, Afro-Caribbean faculty members continue to be rendered indiscernible in higher education and to be frequently and erroneously perceived as African–Americans. The study examines the lived experiences of these individuals in the hegemonic White spaces they occupy at their institutions with both White and Black populations. Through their narratives, issues of stereotyping, microaggression, and isolation are addressed. The participants also offer solutions to address these issues by university administrators, department heads, faculty development professionals, diversity officers, policy makers, and other stakeholders. The voices in this study shed light on an overlooked, misunderstood, and under-researched population within our faculty ranks in the American Academy

The state of hyperlocal community news in the UK: findings from a survey of practitioners

Findings from a survey of practitioner

Commercial Orbital Transportation Cargo Services Environmental Control and Life Support Integration

The International Space Station s (ISS) largest crew and cargo resupply vehicle, the Space Shuttle, will retire in 2011. To help augment ISS resupply and return capability, NASA announced a project to promote the development of Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) for the ISS in January of 2006. By December of 2008, NASA entered into space act agreements with SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation for COTS development and ISS Commercial Resupply Services (CRS). The intent of CRS is to fly multiple resupply missions each year to ISS with SpaceX s Dragon vehicle providing resupply and return capabilities and Orbital Science Corporation s Cygnus vehicle providing resupply capability to ISS. The ISS program launched an integration effort to ensure that these new commercial vehicles met the requirements of the ISS vehicle and ISS program needs. The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) requirements cover basic cargo vehicle needs including maintaining atmosphere, providing atmosphere circulation, and fire detection and suppression. The ISS-COTS integration effort brought unique challenges combining NASA s established processes and design knowledge with the commercial companies new initiatives and limited experience with human space flight. This paper will discuss the ISS ECLS COTS integration effort including challenges, successes, and lessons learned