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Social housing in Australia is an extremely scarce resource in high demand. This scarcity makes how applicants are prioritised for this resource a crucially important process with significant consequences. We examine the assessment process in three Australian states, New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania. In all three, the processes in place are premised on the assumption that they allow for the fair assessment and allocation of social housing to those most in need. Drawing on interviews with 40 informants with expert knowledge of the application process, we examine the three different approaches. We use Weber's concept of ideal type bureaucracy to assist and frame the analysis. A central premise of Weber's analysis is that to avoid corruption, discretion in the making of decisions should not be a feature of a bureaucracy. We conclude that although the assessment processes in place are rule-bound, in many instances discretion is essential and beneficial for the applicant. Further, we demonstrate (in line with Weber's analysis), that the expertise of assessment workers is key. However, there is limited transparency and appealing a decision is possible but can be a challenging task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is focussed on literacy and the literacy experiences of people who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness. Drawing on 23 in‐depth interviews with people who have lived experience of homelessness in Sydney, Australia, the paper examines literacy, literacy needs and interest in literacy programmes from a social practice perspective of literacy. Amartya Sen's (1999) capability approach is drawn on to examine the multidimensional barriers that impede access to literacy. Our findings show literacy needs and how literacy is understood and valued in the lives of people with lived experience of homelessness. We show the ways that spatial and temporal conditions enable and create (im)possibilities for the realisation of literacy as a capability. We also discuss how the capability is imagined to fit into existing worlds, as both an instrumental tool, as well as for personal satisfaction and broader participation in social life. Our interviewees also point to the possibilities of literacy learning and programmes supporting the realisation of other capabilities, emphasising the prospects of achieving multiple capability realisations through program design. We show how the findings bear out the principles of a social practices pedagogy in adult literacy programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical research on international student migrants has sometimes homogenised this group, framing it as predominantly made up of privileged members of the global middle-class. This has led to calls to acknowledge and address the precarity faced by international students in their respective host countries more comprehensively. This study aims to explore how levels of financial precarity vary among international students in Australia, and how this in turn contributes to varying levels of precariousness in the personal spheres of students' lives. In doing so, we centre and refine the concept of precarity for use in studies of internationally mobile students, arguing for its use as a 'relational nexus', bridging financial precarity and broader lived experiences. Drawing on a large-scale survey and semi-structured interviews with 48 students, we emphasise the linkages between financial precarity and precariousness as a socio-ontological experience, explored through the examples of time poverty, physical and mental wellbeing, and relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a critical analysis of urban displacement and acts as an introduction to the Special Feature: 'Putting urban displacement in its place'. It begins by noting the magnitude and significance of displacement, and summarises its constituent components. Drawing upon the work of Hirsh, Eizenberg and Jabareen [2020. "A New Conceptual Framework for Understanding Displacement: Bridging the Gaps in Displacement Literature between the Global South and the Global North." Journal of Planning Literature 35 (4): 391–407], the paper then outlines four kinds of urban displacement processes which span cities in the Global South and North: development-induced displacement, slum clearance, eviction, and gentrification. Brief consideration is also given to the significance of studentification, touristification, and austerity for driving urban displacement. Next the paper explores three crucial issues regarding the conceptualisation of urban displacement: temporality, vulnerability to displacement, and its emotional impacts. The following section discusses rehousing/resettlement and post-displacement experiences. We then examine the contested relationship between displacement and gentrification. The penultimate section outlines some of the methodological challenges in undertaking research on displacement, and also returns to the theme of placing urban displacement via a discussion of urban politics. The final section summarises the four papers in the Special Feature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular genetics has taken the preeminent position in the search for the ancestors of modern humans in sub-Saharan Africa. The usefulness of DNA in identifying lineage and familial relatedness is unquestioned but lost in this rush to use genetics to sort out human ancestry is the large body of recent and current research in skeletal biology. This has become particularly important as molecular genetics moves away from identifying the ancestry of living individuals to extracting DNA directly from archaeological skeletons. Skeletal biology provides a range of data that genetics cannot access, including life history and events at death. Skeletal biology also provides testable hypotheses about the past because of its close association with archaeology. This paper reviews the non-genetics literature published since the 1970's which discusses analyses of human skeletal material from sub-Saharan Africa. It is aimed at genetics researchers who are generally unfamiliar with the publication vehicles frequented by skeletal biologists and archaeologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Although tens of thousands of households are on the waiting-list for social housing in Australia, little is known about how they experience waiting for social housing. Drawing on 75 interviews conducted with people on the waiting-list (waitees) in three Australian states, we examine the impact of waiting on waitees utilising the concept of triple precarity. Double precarity refers to the insecure employment and housing that a substantial proportion of low-income households are experiencing in the contemporary period. We argue that waitees experience triple precarity. Not only are waitees unemployed or intermittently employed and suffer from housing stress and insecurity, but they also have to endure endless waiting. This adds another challenging dimension to their already difficult lives. We show that besides the impacts of insecure housing and employment, waiting for social housing contributes to waitees’ dire living circumstances and quality of life, difficulty finding employment and poor health. Waiting for social housing has emotional and material costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International students have emerged as a major cohort within Australia's post-secondary education sector. Despite contributing substantially to the economy and community, they are expected to make their own way in Australia's expensive private rental market. Drawing on two surveys—one conducted prior to Covid-19 and one fielded during the pandemic—as well as forty semi-structured in-depth interviews, the article examines strategies adopted by students to cope with high rents in Sydney and Melbourne. Drawing on the concept of risk, we argue that international students studying in these two cities must constantly manage the pressures of expensive and unstable rental housing. Access to decent accommodation often depends on finding and maintaining paid employment. Second, students adopt risky strategies to meet housing costs such as sharing bedrooms. These strategies reduce rents but invoke further challenges. Third, we find that due to the loss of paid employment, the Covid-19 pandemic has substantially increased the risks for international students dependent on the private rental sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social housing scarcity has underpinned the development of detailed social housing application processes across Australia. Applications require the strongest possible evidence of disadvantage and need, conceptualized in this paper as the required demonstration of "inverse distinction". Drawing on 47 in-depth interviews in three Australian states with people who have expert knowledge of the application process, we argue that the onerous requirements of the application means that if an applicant does not have a skilled supporter or advocate, they are less likely to achieve an optimal result. Drawing on Bourdieu's framework and the concept of emotional capital, we demonstrate that being prioritized invariably involves an applicant sub-contracting cultural and social capital to an advocate. Further, the latter needs to have the requisite emotional capital. This article shines new light on the practical and emotional workload of social housing applications for both housing professionals and those in need of housing assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We draw on 45 in-depth interviews and a large-scale survey we conducted, to examine loneliness among international students in Sydney and Melbourne within their accommodation. We discuss three features which increase the possibility of loneliness – the physical layout and use of the space; the social composition of fellow tenants, and power differentials between tenants. The interviews indicated that the lack of a congenial common area, having to share with students dissimilar with respect to nationality and language, and being in a situation where a tenant holds disproportionate power, are likely to hinder the development of social connections with fellow tenants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loneliness is recognised as one the most pressing issues of the contemporary period and, if left untreated, can have serious health implications. We argue that a key determinant of loneliness for older people (65 plus) in Australia dependent on the government Age Pension for their income is their housing tenure. Drawing on semi-structured in-depth interviews, we show that older Australians who are private renters are far more likely than their counterparts in social housing to experience loneliness. The high cost of their accommodation results in private renters having no resources for socialising and the possibility that they can be asked to vacate at any time evokes much anxiety. These features make retaining social ties extremely difficult and many experience loneliness. In contrast, the manageable rent of older social housing tenants and guaranteed security of tenure creates a foundation for social engagement and maintaining strong friendships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author presents his genealogical research on his ancestral history in Dzisna which is today the Republic of Belarus, with the help of family history of his paternal grandfather Theodor Morris. Topics discussed include information on Morris immigration to Canada; antisemitism towards Russian Jews in 20th century; and information on bridge over the Dzisna river where Germans forced the Jews to cross on their way to the newly proclaimed ghetto in 1941.

The high cost of accommodation in the City of Sydney local government area (LGA) makes it difficult for low-income and even moderate-income households to retain their accommodation or move into the area. In response, the City of Sydney has set a target that 7.5% of housing (approximately 11,000 homes) should be affordable housing by 2030. Drawing primarily on City of Sydney and New South Wales (NSW) government publications, the article examines the endeavours by the City of Sydney to increase the quantity of affordable housing in the LGA. The article reviews the policies adopted by the City of Sydney and the challenges it faces. It shows that the overriding challenge is the reluctance of the NSW government to put in place policies that would substantially increase the quantity of affordable housing in the City of Sydney LGA. A central argument is that the NSW government's rigid adherence to the neoliberal/financialisation of housing perspective outlined in the article, makes it extremely difficult for the state government to put in place the policies required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing is a major concern for many international students. This is especially so in those countries where students are mostly dependent on the private market for their accommodation. Australia is one such country, and is one of the world's major destinations for international students. This article analyses governmental failure to address problems relating to international student housing affordability and conditions. Using theory on 'policy inaction' to frame the analysis, we draw on 20 interviews with policy stakeholders to explain the Australian government's reliance on: (1) market-based housing provision for international students, and (2) a longstanding policy preference not to provide support. Interviewees were widely critical of the lack of action to address international student housing problems and understood inaction in relation, rather than in opposition, to the dominance of market-based action in housing and higher education. However, analysis of stakeholder perspectives also illuminates how policy-making action benefiting some emerges as inaction for others left behind or overlooked by the status quo. The interview data points to the need for government to overhaul its policy framework, and in doing so, to collaborate with higher education providers in revising the market-based regulatory approach. The main implications for theory and policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cryoballoon ablation (CBA) for pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is an established modality for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). We report feasibility of left atrial (LA) substrate modification in addition to PVI both using the cryoballoon. Methods: LA substrates and CBA‐induced scar were assessed at baseline and 3 months after ablation using late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging (LGE‐MRI). Common periprocedural data including postablation LGE‐MRI for evaluation of esophageal thermal injury, and CBA‐associated complications were collected. Freedom from AF recurrence at 12 months was assessed using Holter and 30‐day rhythm monitors. Results: In 26 patients (64 ± 11 years, 69% male; 27% persistent AF, CHADSVASC score: 2.3 ± 1.5; left ventricular ejection fraction: 56 ± 10%, oral anticoagulation with warfarin/direct oral anticoagulants: n = 11/15), referred for first‐time AF ablation, CBA of the pulmonary veins and extrapulmonary LA substrates was performed (median: 12 [interquartile range {IQR}: 7‐14] freezes over 1675 seconds [IQR: 1168‐2160]). On LGE‐MRI, significant postablation cryoballoon‐induced LA scar (median: 19.4% [IQR: 13.4‐24.7] in comparison to baseline preablation LA‐LGE (median: 10.6% [IQR 3.1‐13.1]; P =.01) was found. Freedom from AF recurrence at 12 months was 74.5% with median time‐to‐recurrence of 242 days (IQR: 172‐298). In 15 of 26 (58%) patients, esophageal enhancement on the postablation MRI was present with full recovery after 3 months. No major periprocedural complications were observed. Conclusion: LA substrate modification in addition to PVI using LGE‐MRI‐guided CBA is feasible but still experimental. The efficacy and safety have to be investigated in a prospective randomized trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the super-gentrification of Millers Point, an inner-city area in Sydney, Australia, and the displacement of its 465 public housing tenants. Drawing on in-depth interviews with public housing tenants and homeowners, media reports and government media releases, it argues that a key reason for the displacement was the super-gentrification of the area that was hastened dramatically by the Barangaroo development, a massive urban spectacle on the site of the old port adjacent to Millers Point. Unlike the earlier analyses of super-gentrification described by Lees and Butler where an already gentrified area is settled by super wealthy households over a period of time, the shift to super-gentrification status in Millers Point did not involve households moving into an area already gentrified. Rather, the process was premised on the Barangaroo development and the displacement of public housing tenants. The displacement meant that the heritage-listed public housing dwelling were now available for purchase by exceptionally wealthy households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014, the New South Wales government announced that all of the 465 public housing tenants in Millers Point in inner Sydney, are to be relocated and their homes sold. This article, drawing on 41 semi-structured interviews with tenants who were residents at the time of the announcement, has two main aims. First, to contribute to the debate as to the continuity or otherwise of community in a global city in late modernity by closely examining the sense of community among the public housing tenants in Millers Point at the time of the displacement announcement. The second aim is to examine what I have termed 'communicide'. I argue that the displacement policy directed at Millers Point public housing tenants can be described as an act of communicide as it destroyed a vibrant community causing tremendous dislocation and stress. After the move, many tenants found themselves deeply isolated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise in private renting in home ownership societies has been variously interpreted as increasing risk and insecurity and providing more flexible housing options for an increasingly diverse resident cohort. Drawing on an original survey and in-depth interviews with private renters in two cities in a classic home ownership society (Australia), there is clear support for the "disaster" interpretation in respect of low-income households renting in outer urban areas, with financial stress and insecurity reflecting and compounding disadvantage. For many others, private renting can be interpreted as a "constructive coping" strategy in the context of urban housing market restructuring. A sizeable cohort of private renters explicitly prioritises living in a desired inner/middle city location over owning. One – albeit relatively small group – appears "deviant" from the home ownership norm in associating private renting with greater lifestyle freedom. The paper contributes an understanding that location and lifestyle are of paramount importance to many private renters rather than housing tenure per se. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explore French novelist Patrick Modiano's relationship to the Holocaust. It mentions he will be seen to be a second-generation, post-Shoah novelist who is haunted by the Occupation; and also mentions he showed few external signs of being Jewish.

International students are an important global cohort of 'noncitizens' whose experiences are central concerns for urban sociologists and migration scholars. Drawing on survey fieldwork conducted among international students in the private rental sector in Sydney and Melbourne during 2019, this article provides new knowledge about the hardships experienced by international students who report financial stress. Using a modified scale developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, we highlight the accelerating role of high levels of financial stress in producing disruptive events such as housing evictions and fears of homelessness, as well as reliance on inadequate housing like 'hot-bedding'. Financial stress is significantly more likely for students from low-GNI (gross national income) countries and higher stress reduces wellbeing. Access to paid employment, however, does not 'protect' against higher financial stress. We conclude that higher education policymakers need tools and policies to prevent disruptive life events among international students related to financial stress, particularly those associated with housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: Multiple markers left atrium (LA) remodeling, including LA shape, correlate with outcomes in atrial fibrillation (AF). Catheter ablation is an important treatment of AF, but better tools are needed to determine which patients will benefit. In this study, we use particle‐based modeling to quantitatively assess LA shape, and determine to what degree it predicts AF recurrence after catheter ablation. Methods and results: There were 254 patients enrolled in the DECAAF study who underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging of the LA prior to AF ablation and were followed for recurrence for up to 475 days. We performed particle‐based shape modeling on each patient's LA shape. We selected shape parameters using the LASSO method and factor analysis, and then added them to a Cox regression model, which included multiple clinical parameters and LA fibrosis. We computed Harrell's C‐statistic with and without shape in the model. We used the model to stratify patients into recurrence risk classes by both shape and shape and fibrosis combined. Three shape parameters were selected for inclusion. The C‐statistic increased from 0.68 to 0.72 when shape was added to the model (P < 0.05). Visualized shapes showed that a more round LA shape with a shorter, more laterally rotated appendage was predictive of recurrence. Conclusion: LA shape is an independent predictor of recurrence after AF ablation. When combined with LA fibrosis, shape analysis using PBM may improve patient selection for ablation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: Adequate catheter/atrial tissue contact is critical for lesion formation during radiofrequency (RF) ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF). Late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging (LGE‐MRI) is a unique tool for the evaluation of lesion formation and detection of acute esophageal injury. Methods: LGE‐MRIs were obtained prior, within 24 hours of, and at 115 ± 62 days after first AF ablation in 36 patients. The Visitag module of CARTO3 was used to collect contact force (CF) and duration from a CF sensing ablation catheter for each registered ablation point. The minimum CF resulting in permanent lesions was determined. Esophageal enhancement detected by acute LGE‐MRI was classified as mild, moderate, and severe. The CF resulting in esophageal enhancement was determined. Results: A total of 4,642 registered ablation tags at 50 W power were analyzed. The mean RF duration (5.9 ± 3.7 vs. 5.6 ± 3.2 seconds, P < 0.05), CF (11.5 ± 5.6 vs. 10.9 ± 5.4 g, P < 0.001), and force time integral (FTI) (67.3 ± 54.5 vs. 62.2 ± 52.7 gs, P < 0.01) were significantly higher between ablation tags with and without associated LGE‐MRI detected scar. The mean CF (15.7 ± 6.1 vs. 12.6 ± 5.9 g, P < 0.05, n  =  17 patients) in areas of esophageal enhancement was greater than areas without. Conclusion: Left atrial short duration ablation lesions with a CF greater than 12 g are more likely to be associated with permanent lesion formation. Ablating on top of the esophagus, CF less than 15 g would help minimize esophageal wall injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines how the housing tenure of older Australians, who are primarily or solely dependent on the government age pension for their income, impacts on their health. Drawing on 125 in-depth interviews with older private renters, social housing tenants and homeowners, it focuses mainly on interviewees’ narratives as to the impacts of their housing tenure on their mental health and outlook. It illustrates that security of tenure and cost of accommodation potentially has a profound impact on the psychological health of older Australians. Most of the older private renters told of being constantly stressed due to concerns about being given notice to vacate or an untenable rent increase. In contrast, the strong security of tenure and limited accommodation costs of older social housing tenants and homeowners created a foundation for a positive outlook and the capacity to lead a decent life. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 2014, the New South Wales (NSW) government announced that it was to move all of the approximately 580 public housing tenants from Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks in inner Sydney, sell the properties and use the proceeds to build social housing. This article, drawing on government media material and in-depth interviews with tenants, examines the removal process and contrasts the government's narrative with that of the tenants. What is argued is that the displacement reflects how in the current neoliberal climate, instrumental rationality is a central feature, i.e. little cognisance is taken of the human cost of policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many developed economies, especially in ‘liberal welfare regimes’, have experienced a substantial growth in private rental housing. Bound up with this dynamic is the rising incidence of long-term private renting (private renting for ten years or more). Regulation of the private rental sector in liberal welfare regimes is light and post the written agreement residents are subject to constant de jure insecurity. Drawing on a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews (the primary focus), this article investigates the impacts of perpetual de jure housing insecurity on long-term private renters in diverse housing markets (low-, medium- and high-rent) in Sydney and Melbourne. The results indicate that de jure insecurity does not necessarily translate into de facto insecurity. Long-term private renters typically respond to perpetual de jure insecurity in one of three ways – incessant anxiety and fear; lack of concern; and concern offset by economic/social capital and traded off against locational preference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2014, the minister responsible announced that all of the approximately 600 public housing tenants of Millers Point and the Sirius Building in inner Sydney are to be moved and the properties sold. Millers Point is probably the oldest public housing area in Australia. The Sirius Building was purpose built for public housing tenants in the late 1970s. The article briefly examines the gentrification process in the Millers Point area. However, the main focus, drawing on six in-depth interviews with public housing tenants who are still residents in the area and 13 who have moved, is an examination of the impact of the government's removal announcement and the actual displacement of residents. What this article illustrates is that the place attachment of most of the interviewees was profound and the removal announcement and the actual move were devastating. Interviewees spoke of deep sadness and anxiety at the thought of leaving what they considered a unique and genuine community. Residents who had moved told of their isolation and melancholy at having lost their local social network. The research shows that the human cost of policies and not revenue should always be the central consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-amyloid cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) may be interrelated through the damaged basement membranes (BMs) and extracellular matrix changes of small vessels, resulting in a failure of β-amyloid (Aβ) transport and degradation. We analyzed BM changes and the pattern of deposition of Aβ in the walls of blood vessels in spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rats (SHRSP), a non-transgenic CSVD model. In 45 SHRSP and 38 Wistar rats aged 18 to 32 weeks: (i) the percentage area immunostained for vascular collagen IV and laminin was quantified; (ii) the capillary BM thickness as well as endothelial and pericyte pathological changes were analysed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM); and (iii) the presence of vascular Aβ was assessed. Compared with controls, SHRSP exhibited a significantly higher percentage area immunostained with collagen IV in the striatum and thalamus. SHRSP also revealed an age-dependent increase of the capillary BM thickness and of endothelial vacuoles (caveolae) within subcortical regions. Endogenous Aβ deposits in the walls of small blood vessels were observed in the cortex (with the highest incidence found within fronto-parietal areas), striatum, thalamus and hippocampus. Vascular β-amyloid accumulations were frequently detected at sites of small vessel wall damage. Our data demonstrate changes in the expression of collagen IV and of the ultrastructure of BMs in the small vessels of SHRSP. Alterations are accompanied by vascular deposits of endogenous Aβ. Impaired β-amyloid clearance along perivascular and endothelial pathways and failure of extracellular Aβ degradation may be the key mechanisms connecting non-amyloid CSVD and CAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanical stratigraphy encompasses the mechanical properties, thicknesses, and interface properties of rock units. Although mechanical stratigraphy often relates directly to lithostratigraphy, lithologic description alone does not adequately describe mechanical behavior. Analyses of normal faults with displacements of millimeters to 10's of kilometers in mechanically layered rocks reveal that mechanical stratigraphy influences nucleation, failure mode, fault geometry, displacement gradient, displacement distribution, fault core and damage zone characteristics, and fault zone deformation processes. The relationship between normal faulting and mechanical stratigraphy can be used either to predict structural style using knowledge of mechanical stratigraphy, or conversely to interpret mechanical stratigraphy based on characterization of the structural style. This review paper explores a range of mechanical stratigraphic controls on normal faulting illustrated by natural and modeled examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two decades a feature of local government reforms globally has been the introduction of New Public Management (NPM). Under this broad approach to public administration there is an expectation that councillors play a greater strategic role and move away from involvement in day-today management. This research, carried out in the state of Victoria, Australia, examines councillors' understandings of their roles. Based on 17 in-depth interviews and two focus groups, we found that despite the evolving legislative requirements framing councillors as policymakers not managers, most councillors continued to seek involvement in the day-to-day management of councils. We argue that this gap may be linked to the diversity of views concerning the role of the councillor and the idea of representation and how both play out at the local level. It may also signal a lack of awareness as to how the legislatively inscribed role for councillors has changed over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key aspect of Jim Kemeny’s argument is that in advanced economies that have high levels of home ownership, the age pension is only adequate if you have low accommodation costs. A related argument is that these societies will be dominated by what he calls a dualist rental market. In this rental market regulation is minimal and landlords hold sway. Kemeny’s thesis, was given added support by Castles’ (1998) more extensive comparative analysis. He concluded that his findings were ‘extremely supportive’ of Kemeny’s conclusion. In this paper, I use in-depth interviews to test Kemeny’s thesis. The circumstances of older homeowners and older private renters in Australia are compared. All of the interviewees were dependent solely or primarily on the government age pension. The interviews indicated that almost all of the older homeowners felt that the age pension was adequate. They were able to consume adequately, engage in leisure activities, run a car, go on holiday and they had little anxiety about their financial situation. This was especially so in the case of those interviewees drawing the couples pension. In contrast, most of the older private renters suffered from severe financial stress. Invariably they had to use a large proportion of their income to pay for accommodation, and as a result, they found it difficult to purchase basic items and any unexpected expense precipitated much anxiety. Their limited resources severely impacted on their capacity to sustain social contacts, engage in leisure activities and look after their health. In addition to having limited resources, many had minimal security of occupancy. The interviews strongly substantiated Kemeny’s original thesis. They illustrated that within a dualist rental market the housing tenure and attendant accommodation costs of a person dependent on the government age pension are crucial determinants of their capacity to live a decent life. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the survey which assessed how critical care clinicians were implementing the Choosing Wisely initiative recommendations in clinical practice, which include reducing unnecessary diagnostic testing and offering comfort care at the end of life. It explores the finding of the survey that clinicians do not consistently follow many guidelines.

In the absence of conventional lymphatics, drainage of interstitial fluid and solutes from the brain parenchyma to cervical lymph nodes is along basement membranes in the walls of cerebral capillaries and tunica media of arteries. Perivascular pathways are also involved in the entry of CSF into the brain by the convective influx/glymphatic system. The objective of this study is to differentiate the cerebral vascular basement membrane pathways by which fluid passes out of the brain from the pathway by which CSF enters the brain. Experiment 1: 0.5 µl of soluble biotinylated or fluorescent Aβ, or 1 µl 15 nm gold nanoparticles was injected into the mouse hippocampus and their distributions determined at 5 min by transmission electron microscopy. Aβ was distributed within the extracellular spaces of the hippocampus and within basement membranes of capillaries and tunica media of arteries. Nanoparticles did not enter capillary basement membranes from the extracellular spaces. Experiment 2: 2 µl of 15 nm nanoparticles were injected into mouse CSF. Within 5min, groups of nanoparticles were present in the pial-glial basement membrane on the outer aspect of cortical arteries between the investing layer of pia mater and the glia limitans. The results of this study and previous research suggest that cerebral vascular basement membranes form the pathways by which fluid passes into and out of the brain but that different basement membrane layers are involved. The significance of these findings for neuroimmunology, Alzheimer's disease, drug delivery to the brain and the concept of the Virchow-Robin space are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze small scale examples of thrust faults and related folding in outcrops of the Cretaceous Boquillas Formation within Big Bend National Park in west Texas to develop detailed understanding of the fault nucleation and propagation that may aid in the interpretation of larger thrust system structure. Thrust faults in the outcrop have maximum displacements ranging from 0.5 cm to 9 cm within competent limestone beds, and these displacements diminish both upward into anticlines and downward into synclines within the interbedded and weaker mudrock layers. We interpret the faults as having nucleated within the competent units and partially propagated into the less competent units without developing floor or roof thrusts. Faults that continued to propagate resulted in hanging wall anticlines above upwardly propagating fault tips, and footwall synclines beneath downwardly propagating fault tips. The observed structural style may provide insights in the nucleation of faults at the formation scale and the structural development at the mountain-range scale. Décollement or detachment layers may be a consequence rather than cause of thrust ramps through competent units and could be over interpreted from seismic data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We suggest that faults in high slip tendency orientations tend to develop larger displacements than other faults. Consequently, faults that accumulate larger displacements are more likely to be reliable indicators of the longer term stress field and should be weighted accordingly in paleostress estimation. Application of a stress inversion technique that uses slip tendency analyses and fault displacements to interpret populations of coherent normal faults within the Balcones Fault System of south-central Texas provides stress estimates that are consistent with established regional stress analyses. Although the method does not require measurement of slip directions, these data, where available, and sensitivity analyses of the angular mismatch between measured slip directions and those predicted by inverted stress states provide high confidence in the stress estimates generated using slip tendency analyses. Close inspection of the fault orientation and displacement data further indicates that subpopulations of faults with orientations different from the regional pattern have formed in response to stress perturbations generated by displacement gradients on an adjacent seismic scale fault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In February 1944, Missak Manouchian and twenty-one of his fellow Resistance fighters were executed by the Nazis. Over sixty years later, a prize-winning French author, Didier Daeninckx, is regularly depicting key members of this band of warriors in his novels, short stories, children's books, and other writings, thereby finding himself at the forefront of a veritable wave of imaginative representations and commemorations of these martyrs for the cause of freedom. After exploring this individual obsession of Daeninckx's and its relationship to the broader retrospective trend, this article ultimately contends that not only the author's subject matter, but also many of his narrative strategies, suggest that France has still not really managed to come to terms with the legacy of the Occupation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describe the results of a Brazilian nationwide quality improvement initiative in sepsis management. It is mentioned that the initiative improved compliance with sepsis bundle elements in both public and private hospitals. Researchers have found thatpublic hospitals in Brazil had poor compliance with minimal improvement during their observation period, whereas the private hospitals had greater improvements in both compliance and in in-hospital mortality.

Since the early 1990s public housing in Australia has become increasingly residualised. The high demand and limited availability means that in order to be eligible potential tenants usually have to be in ‘greatest need’. This article has three main sections. It first considers the processes which have led to the residualisation of public housing. Second, through the use of in-depth interviews the way older public housing tenants in inner-city neighbourhoods in Sydney portray the shifts in the social composition of tenants is explored. The third objective is to investigate the anti-social behaviour older tenants experience and its impact on their everyday lives and how they cope. Loïc Wacquant’s concept of advanced marginality is used to examine the residualisation of public housing. The impact of residualisation is assessed by exploring how it impacts on older residents’ concept of home and what is considered an age-friendly environment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Supplemental instruction (SI) is a small-group, peer-mentored programme which is compatible with the learning preferences of American Indian students. We tested the hypothesis that SI is a compensatory strategy that reduces the differences in the grades earned in introduction to psychology by Euro-American and American Indian students. The sample consisted of 129 American Indian students and 4588 Euro-American students enrolled in introduction to psychology at a US university. As hypothesised, a multi-level model yielded a significant (p < .01) interaction between SI and ethnicity on course grade. Whereas for non-SI users, the gap between Euro-American and American Indian students was .71 grade points, for SI users, it was only .15 grade points. Strategies should be devised for increasing SI visits by students enrolled in introduction to psychology, particularly those who belong to American Indian tribes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The oldest contemporary human mitochondrial lineages arose in Africa. The earliest divergent extant maternal offshoot, namely haplogroup L0d, is represented by click-speaking forager peoples of southern Africa. Broadly defined as Khoesan, contemporary Khoesan are today largely restricted to the semidesert regions of Namibia and Botswana, whereas archeological, historical, and genetic evidence promotes a once broader southerly dispersal of click-speaking peoples including southward migrating pastoralists and indigenous marine-foragers. No genetic data have been recovered from the indigenous peoples that once sustained life along the southern coastal waters of Africa prepastoral arrival. In this study we generate a complete mitochondrial genome from a 2,330-year-old male skeleton, confirmed through osteological and archeological analysis as practicing a marine-based forager existence. The ancient mtDNA represents a new L0d2c lineage (L0d2c1c) that is today, unlike its Khoe-language based sister-clades (L0d2c1a and L0d2c1b) most closely related to contemporary indigenous San-speakers (specifically Ju). Providing the first genomic evidence that prepastoral Southern African marine foragers carried the earliest diverged maternal modern human lineages, this study emphasizes the significance of Southern African archeological remains in defining early modern human origins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how queer young people in Australia are engaging in an online community to address their marginalisation and oppression. Drawing on an analysis of online forums and in-depth interviews with 14 participants, we use Durkheim's concept of egoism and the social model of disability to analyse the role and impact of the online community. The findings indicate that the community not only provides a sense of belonging for the participants and reduces their experiences of isolation, but also connects them to resources and networking opportunities that foster political participation. In this way, the online community operates as a space for young people to understand and potentially overcome their experiences of egoism and marginality. It helps them to reach the realisation that it is not them but the heteronormative ‘society’ that is the problem. In doing so, the online community provides young people with the emotional resources and social capital to do something to address their marginalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article explores philosophical and scientific underpinnings of clinical research at the patient-clinician encounter scale. It is said that giving correct clinical choices is a low-probability exercise when trustworthy evidence is lacking. It was said that human behavior modification is needed in getting a benefit at the patient-clinician encounter scale. It is noted that whether and how detailed decision-support tools may enable reproducible clinician behavior should be evaluated.

Abstract: “Fault drag” (deflection of beds or other markers into folds that are convex in the direction of relative slip) is often interpreted as the product of frictional sliding along a fault and progressive tilting of beds with increased amount of displacement along a fault. We analyze two sets of normal faults, with throws ranging from 0.5m to 5m, and associated fault-related folds in mechanically layered upper Cretaceous carbonate, anhydrite, and shale in central Texas. For each fault set, we interpret the fault displacement and fault-related folds exposed in outcrop to represent different stages in the developmental sequence. In both fault sets, faults in dolostone or limestone lose displacement and tip into less competent anhydrite or shale where deformation is accommodated by folding and smaller scale deformation. Fold wavelength is established early and at small displacement (<1m throw). With increasing displacement the monoclinal fold limb steepens and is extended parallel to bedding, locally producing boudinage in the most competent bed between incompetent beds. Clay smear is well developed where a 0.35m thick clay shale is locally thinned to 0.1m associated with fault throws of 0.5 to 5m. Bed tilting and the development of apparent drag is not the product of frictional sliding but instead folding at the tip of an arrested, in this case upwardly, propagating normal fault. We conclude that synthetic dip associated with steep normal faults (i.e., fault drag) should not be assumed to be the product of frictional drag, but must be considered in the context of the mechanical stratigraphy. Instead, fault-tip folding in mechanically layered rocks produces synthetic dip (drag) early in the fault development history prior to propagation of the fault tip through the folded layer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cet article porte sur une des nouvelles les moins connues de Patrick Modiano : Dieu prend-il soin des bœufs ?, ouvrage de bibliophilie écrit en collaboration avec l’artiste Gérard Garouste. Après un court résumé de l’histoire de ce livre – variation sur le conte pour enfants traditionnel – le texte est situé dans le contexte de l’ensemble des écrits de l’auteur, afin de mettre en évidence les nombreux jeux de miroirs qui se créent. D’une part, sont mis en valeur des éléments du récit qui sont des constantes de l’imaginaire du romancier : les personnages-animaux servant de métaphores ; l’omniprésence de la Seconde guerre mondiale et de l’Holocauste ; le clin d’œil fait à l’Œdipe ; l’importance des images (contribution d’un artiste-illustrateur); les apports intertextuels. D’autre part, la spécificité de ce texte est soulignée : le fait qu’il se termine bien et sans ambiguïté, ce qui nécessite une inversion de plusieurs grands thèmes modianiens habituels. Il y a donc une concordance évidente entre la rareté de ce livre, qui est quasiment inaccessible au grand public, et la (relative) nouveauté de certains aspects de l’histoire qu’il véhicule, aspects également rares au sein de l’œuvre modianienne. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Skeletal age estimation as a means of assessing development and skeletal maturation in children and adolescents is of great importance for clinical and forensic purposes. The skeletal age of a test population is estimated by comparison with established standards, the most common standards being those in the Radiographic atlas of skeletal development of the hand and wrist published by Greulich and Pyle in 1959. These standards are based on the assumption that skeletal maturity in male individuals is attained by the chronological age of 19 years. Although they have been widely tested, the applicability of these standards to contemporary populations has yet to be tested on a population of African biological origin living in South Africa. We therefore estimated the skeletal age of 131 male Africans aged between 13 and 21 years, using the Greulich-Pyle method which we applied to pre-existing hand-wrist radiographs. Estimated skeletal age was compared to the known chronological age for each radiograph. Skeletal age was on average approximately 6 months younger than chronological age. The Greulich-Pyle method underestimated skeletal age for approximately 74% of the sample and overestimated skeletal age for 26% of the sample. Skeletal maturity as characterised by complete epiphyseal fusion occurred approximately 2.1 years later than Greulich and Pyle's estimate of 19 years. Thus skeletal maturation was still in progress in a large proportion of the 20- and 21-year-old individuals in our study. The Greulich-Pyle method showed high precision but low accuracy and was therefore not directly applicable to African male individuals. Formulation of skeletal age estimation standards specific to South African populations is therefore recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The in situ stress state is an important controlling factor for the slip behavior of faults and fractures in the earth''s crust and hence for the productivity of faulted and fractured hydrocarbon reservoirs. Current methods for stress tensor estimation rely on slip vector field data; however, this information is not generally available from data sets that are commonly used in the oil and gas industry. This work presents a new stress inversion approach where slip tendency is used as a proxy for fault displacement, which can easily be extracted from data sets routinely used by the oil and gas industry. The inversion approach is demonstrated using a data set obtained from the Canyon Lake Gorge in Comal County, Texas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One of the biggest surprises in the rise of apartheid in South Africa in the 1940s was that, unlike in prewar Germany, it was not rooted in the physical anthropology of the previous decades. The engineers of apartheid were, for the most part, Afrikaans-speaking ethnologists operating out of the Afrikaans-medium universities, where little or no physical anthropology was taught. The University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Cape Town, both English-medium schools based on the traditions of British academia, were the centers of biological anthropology. Although none of the early practitioners from these schools were directly involved in the implementation of the apartheid policy, their strict typological approach to human variation provided a solid growth medium in which the government policies could develop without credible scientific opposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the social worlds of older renters. Drawing on in-depth interviews and Sen's capability approach, it argues that accommodation costs, security of tenure and the neighbourhood play a pivotal role in shaping the capability of older renters to initiate and sustain social connections and leisure activities. In the case of older private renters, their high rents and constant anxiety around their security of tenure meant that many did not have the capability to engage in leisure activities and were isolated. In contrast, the older social housing interviewees, because of their low rents, guaranteed security of tenure and longevity of residence, usually had the capability to sustain strong social ties and partake in social activities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]