Eating habits of a population undergoing a rapid dietary transition: portion sizes of traditional and non-traditional foods and beverages consumed by Inuit adults in Nunavut, Canada

Background: To determine the portion sizes of traditional and non-traditional foods being consumed by Inuit adults in three remote communities in Nunavut, Canada. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out between June and October, 2008. Trained field workers collected dietary data using a culturally appropriate, validated quantitative food frequency questionnaire (QFFQ) developed specifically for the study population. Results: Caribou, muktuk (whale blubber and skin) and Arctic char (salmon family), were the most commonly consumed traditional foods; mean portion sizes for traditional foods ranged from 10 g for fermented seal fat to 424 g for fried caribou. Fried bannock and white bread were consumed by >85% of participants; mean portion sizes for these foods were 189 g and 70 g, respectively. Sugar-sweetened beverages and energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods were also widely consumed. Mean portion sizes for regular pop and sweetened juices with added sugar were 663 g and 572 g, respectively. Mean portion sizes for potato chips, pilot biscuits, cakes, chocolate and cookies were 59 g, 59 g, 106 g, 59 g, and 46 g, respectively. Conclusions: The present study provides further evidence of the nutrition transition that is occurring among Inuit in the Canadian Arctic. It also highlights a number of foods and beverages that could be targeted in future nutritional intervention programs aimed at obesity and diet-related chronic disease prevention in these and other Inuit communities.

End-of-life care: identifying an appropriate legal framework for specialist palliative care in Ireland

This thesis argues that the legal framework in Ireland for specialist palliative care is inadequate and consequently a more appropriate legal framework must be identified. This research is guided by three central research questions. The first central research question examines the legitimacy of the distinction between specialist palliative care and euthanasia. The second central research question asks what legal framework currently exists in Ireland for specialist palliative care. The third central research question examines an alternative legal framework for specialist palliative. This thesis is composed of seven chapters. The first Chapter is an introduction to the thesis and defines the terminology and the central research questions. Chapter Two explores the development and practice of palliative care in Ireland. Chapter Three examines the distinction in criminal law between specialist palliative care practices and euthanasia. Chapter Four examines the human rights framework for specialist palliative care. Chapter Five critiques the regulatory framework in Ireland for specialist palliative care. Having gained a thorough understanding of palliative care and the related legal framework, this thesis then engages in comparative analysis of the Netherlands which is used as a source of ideas for reform in Ireland. Chapter Seven is the concluding chapter and, in it, the main findings of this thesis are summarised. The main findings being that: the distinction between specialist palliative care and euthanasia is not sufficiently supported by justifications such as a double effect or the acts and omissions distinction, there is no clear decision-making framework in Ireland for specialist palliative care, and the current legal framework lacks clarity and does not promote consistency between providers of specialist palliative care. This Chapter also proposes that detailed professional standards and guidelines are likely to be the most appropriate way to effect individual and institutional change in the provision of specialist palliative care.

Practical, appropriate, empirically-validated guidelines for designing educational games

There has recently been a great deal of interest in the potential of computer games to function as innovative educational tools. However, there is very little evidence of games fulfilling that potential. Indeed, the process of merging the disparate goals of education and games design appears problematic, and there are currently no practical guidelines for how to do so in a coherent manner. In this paper, we describe the successful, empirically validated teaching methods developed by behavioural psychologists and point out how they are uniquely suited to take advantage of the benefits that games offer to education. We conclude by proposing some practical steps for designing educational games, based on the techniques of Applied Behaviour Analysis. It is intended that this paper can both focus educational games designers on the features of games that are genuinely useful for education, and also introduce a successful form of teaching that this audience may not yet be familiar with.