Lost in Transition? Emerging forms of residential architecture in Kathmandu

Kathmandu has been the last few cities in the world which retained its medieval urban culture up until twentieth century. Various Hindu and Buddhist religious practices shaped the arrangement of houses, roads and urban spaces giving the city a distinctive physical form, character and a unique oriental nativeness. In recent decades, the urban culture of the city has been changing with the forces of urbanisation and globalisation and the demand for new buildings and spaces. New residential design is increasingly dominated by distinctive patterns of Western suburban ideal comprising detached or semi-detached homes and high rise tower blocks. This architectural iconoclasm can be construed as a rather crude response to the indigenous spaces and builtform. The paper attempts to dismantle the current tension between traditional and contemporary 'culture' (and hence society) and housing (or builtform) in Kathmandu by engaging in a discussion that cuts across space, time and meaning of building. The paper concludes that residential architecture in Kathmandu today stands disoriented and lost in the transition.

Residential segregation, dividing walls and mental health: A population-based record linkage study

Background
Neighbourhood segregation has been described as a fundamental determinant of physical health, but literature on its effect on mental health is less clear. Whilst most previous research has relied on conceptualized measures of segregation, Northern Ireland is unique as it contains physical manifestations of segregation in the form of segregation barriers (or “peacelines”) which can be used to accurately identify residential segregation.
Methods
We used population-wide health record data on over 1.3 million individuals, to analyse the effect of residential segregation, measured by both the formal Dissimilarity Index and by proximity to a segregation barrier, on the likelihood of poor mental health.
Results
Using multi-level logistic regression models we found residential segregation measured by the Dissimilarity Index poses no additional risk to the likelihood of poor mental health after adjustment for area-level deprivation. However, residence in an area segregated by a “peaceline” increases the likelihood of antidepressant medication by 19% (OR=1.19, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.23) and anxiolytic medication by 39% (OR=1.39, 95% CI: 1.32, 1.48), even after adjustment for gender, age, conurbation, deprivation and crime.
Conclusions
Living in an area segregated by a ‘peaceline’ is detrimental to mental health suggesting segregated areas characterised by a heightened sense of ‘other’ pose a greater risk to mental health. The difference in results based on segregation measure highlights the importance of choice of measure when studying segregation.

An analysis of Child Care Policy and Practice in Barnardo’s Macedon and Sharonmore residential homes in Northern Ireland during the period 1952 – 1990, the period under investigation by the Inquiry.

Report to examine the nature and extent of any abuse in Barnardo’s Macedon and Sharonmore residential homes in Northern Ireland and to determine whether that abuse was caused or facilitated by failings on the part of Barnardo’s, and whether they were systemic in nature. Abuse and systemic failings as defined in the document published by the Inquiry in June 2013 “Definition of Abuse and Systemic Failings”.

Collectively coping with contact: The role of intragroup support in dealing with the challenges of intergroup mixing in residential contexts

The social identity approach to stress has shown how intragroup support processes shape individuals' responses to stress across health care, workplace, and community settings. However, the issue of how these 'social cure' processes can help cope with the stress of intergroup contact has yet to be explored. This is particularly important given the pivotal role of intergroup threat and anxiety in the experience of contact as well as the effect of contact on extending the boundaries of group inclusion. This study applies this perspective to a real-life instance of residential contact in a divided society. Semi-structured interviews with 14 Catholic and 13 Protestant new residents of increasingly mixed areas of Belfast city, Northern Ireland, were thematically analysed. Results highlight that transitioning to mixed communities was fraught with intergroup anxiety, especially for those coming from 'single identity' areas. Help from existing residents, especially when offered by members of other religious denominations, signalled a 'mixed community ethos' to new residents, which facilitated adopting and sharing this identity. This shared identity then enabled them to deal with unexpected intergroup threats and provided resilience to future sectarian division. New residents who did not adopt this shared identity remained isolated, fearful, and prone to negative contact.

An Assessment of How Nurse Practitioners Create Access to Primary Care in Canadian Residential Long-Term Care Settings

The aim of this paper is to explore the role and activities of nurse practitioners (NPs) working in long-term care (LTC) to understand concepts of access to primary care for residents. Utilizing the "FIT" framework developed by Penchanksy and Thomas, we used a directed content analysis method to analyze data from a pan-Canadian study of NPs in LTC. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted at four sites in western, central and eastern regions of Canada with 143 participants, including NPs, RNs, regulated and unregulated nursing staff, allied health professionals, physicians, administrators and directors and residents and family members. Participants emphasized how the availability and accessibility of the NP had an impact on access to primary and urgent care for residents. Understanding more about how NPs affect access in Canadian LTC will be valuable for nursing practice and healthcare planning and policy and may assist other countries in planning for the introduction of NPs in LTC settings to increase access to primary care.

The impact of childhood residential mobility on mental health outcomes in adolescence and early adulthood: a record linkage study.

Background Understanding the causes of poor mental health in early childhood and adolescence is important as this can be a significant determinant of mental well-being in later years. One potential and relatively unexplored factor is residential mobility in formative years. Previous studies have been relatively small and potentially limited due to methodological issues. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between early residential instability and poor mental health among adolescents and young adults in Northern Ireland.

Methods A Census-based record linkage study of 28% of children aged 0–8 years in 2001 in Northern Ireland (n=49 762) was conducted, with six monthly address change assessments from health registration data and self-reported mental health status from the 2011 Census. Logistic regression models were built adjusting for socioeconomic status (SES), household composition and marital dissolution.

Results There was a graded relationship between the number of address changes and mental ill-health (adjusted OR 3.67, 95% CIs 2.11 to 6.39 for 5 or more moves). This relationship was not modified by SES or household composition. Marital dissolution was associated with poor mental health but did not modify the relationship between address change and mental health (p=0.206). There was some indication that movement after the age of five was associated with an increased likelihood of poor mental health.

Conclusions This large study clearly confirms the close relationship between address change in early years and later poor mental health. Residential mobility may be a useful marker for children at risk of poorer mental health in adolescence and early adulthood