An analysis of parliamentary questions raised by Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh (India) State Legislative Assembly

The use of parliamentary questions is the most popular and visible tool in the hands of the Opposition as a means to make government accountable. Their main purpose is to seek information or press for action. Contemporary parliamentary literature from the UK, Canada, and Australia, however, suggests that parliamentary questions have lost their effectiveness. The literature points out that Question Time in parliaments has become a battle ground between Ruling and Opposition parties in their fight to gain maximum political advantage. In this context, the effectiveness of parliamentary questions in the Indian state legislatures has not been investigated. The aim of this study, therefore, is to analyse the use, purpose and effectiveness of parliamentary questions in the State Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh (India) to explore differences, if any, between Ruling and Opposition parties. In this study, 4023 parliamentary questions asked in the Uttar Pradesh State Legislative Assembly were analysed. The effectiveness of answers was also analysed qualitatively. The results show that half of the total members of the Assembly used this device, out of which 60% of the questions were asked by the Opposition party members. 31% of the questions from the Opposition were seeking information and 69% were pressing for action. The government provided the required information in 96% of the questions in the former category and took action in only 35% of the latter category. Furthermore, 60% of the questions raised by the Opposition were related to constituency matters and the remaining 40% were related to policy issues or public welfare. Comparing the data with the ruling party, the results indicate that the use,purpose and effectiveness of parliamentary questions were similar to that of the Opposition except some minor differences. Surprisingly, there was no evidence of any ‘Dorothy Dix’ questions. The study concludes parliamentary question is an effective device in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The work of women teachers in primary literacy education : knowing and doing

This paper provides a retrospective account of three decades of my work as a literacy educator and researcher. Taking key insights from feminist sociologist, Dorothy Smith, including women’s standpoint, the everyday world as problematic, institutional capture, a sociology for the people, I revisit my research on literacy, poverty and schooling. I argue that understanding better the effects of what we do in educational institutions, through collaborative research with teachers, can lead us to generate positive alternative equity-driven practices.

Teachers' work and pedagogy in an era of accountability

A great deal of educational policy proceeds as though teachers are malleable and ever-responsive to change. Some argue they are positioned as technicians who simply implement policy. However, how teachers go about their work and respond to reform agendas may be contingent upon many factors that are both biographical in nature and workplace related. In this paper we discuss the work of middle school teachers in low-socioeconomic communities from their perspectives. Referring to reflective interviews, meeting transcripts and an electronic reporting template, we examine how teacher participants in a school reform project describe their work - what they emphasise and what they down-play or omit. Using Foucaultian approaches to critical discourse analysis and insights from Dorothy Smith's (2005) Institutional Ethnography, we consider the 'discursive economy' (Carlson, 2005) in teachers' reported experiences of their everyday practices in northern suburbs schools in South Australia in which a democratic progressive discourse exists alongside corporate and disciplinary discourses.

The role of academic community in higher learning : Alternatives to a drive-thru education

The purpose of our paper is to illustrate the fundamental importance of developing academic community among first year students. We argue that a sense of academic community is of fundamental importance in combating the effects of the neo-liberal economic discourse on higher education, and that the values of higher education are incongruent with those of economic rationalism. The discursive commodification of the student, and of education itself, works against the formation of community, both within the university environment and in the wider society. We argue that, at present, the dominant discourse shaping the social practice of higher education is that of neo-liberal economics. Community values stand in opposition to the dominant discourse, and are integral to the long-term survival of a socially critical and socially responsive society. We conclude that the importance of establishing a sense of academic community during the first year of university is justified by its ultimate value to society.

Application of Geographic Modeling Techniques to Quantify Spatial Access to Health Services Before and After an Acute Cardiac Event: The Cardiac ARIA Project

Background: Access to cardiac services is essential for appropriate implementation of evidence-based therapies to improve outcomes. The Cardiac Accessibility and Remoteness Index for Australia (Cardiac ARIA) aimed to derive an objective, geographic measure reflecting access to cardiac services. Methods: An expert panel defined an evidence-based clinical pathway. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a numeric/alpha index was developed at two points along the continuum of care. The acute category (numeric) measured the time from the emergency call to arrival at an appropriate medical facility via road ambulance. The aftercare category (alpha) measured access to four basic services (family doctor, pharmacy, cardiac rehabilitation, and pathology services) when a patient returned to their community. Results: The numeric index ranged from 1 (access to principle referral center with cardiac catheterization service ≤ 1 hour) to 8 (no ambulance service, > 3 hours to medical facility, air transport required). The alphabetic index ranged from A (all 4 services available within 1 hour drive-time) to E (no services available within 1 hour). 13.9 million (71%) Australians resided within Cardiac ARIA 1A locations (hospital with cardiac catheterization laboratory and all aftercare within 1 hour). Those outside Cardiac 1A were over-represented by people aged over 65 years (32%) and Indigenous people (60%). Conclusion: The Cardiac ARIA index demonstrated substantial inequity in access to cardiac services in Australia. This methodology can be used to inform cardiology health service planning and the methodology could be applied to other common disease states within other regions of the world.

Development of a gas nanosensor node powered by solar cells

This work focuses on the development of a stand-alone gas nanosensor node, powered by solar energy to track concentration of polluted gases such as NO2, N2O, and NH3. Gas sensor networks have been widely developed over recent years, but the rise of nanotechnology is allowing the creation of a new range of gas sensors [1] with higher performance, smaller size and an inexpensive manufacturing process. This work has created a gas nanosensor node prototype to evaluate future field performance of this new generation of sensors. The sensor node has four main parts: (i) solar cells; (ii) control electronics; (iii) gas sensor and sensor board interface [2-4]; and (iv) data transmission. The station is remotely monitored through wired (ethernet cable) or wireless connection (radio transmitter) [5, 6] in order to evaluate, in real time, the performance of the solar cells and sensor node under different weather conditions. The energy source of the node is a module of polycrystalline silicon solar cells with 410cm2 of active surface. The prototype is equipped with a Resistance-To-Period circuit [2-4] to measure the wide range of resistances (KΩ to GΩ) from the sensor in a simple and accurate way. The system shows high performance on (i) managing the energy from the solar panel, (ii) powering the system load and (iii) recharging the battery. The results show that the prototype is suitable to work with any kind of resistive gas nanosensor and provide useful data for future nanosensor networks.

Modelling the flow of cane constituents in the milling process

A model has been developed to track the flow of cane constituents through the milling process. While previous models have tracked the flow of fibre, brix and water through the process, this model tracks the soluble and insoluble solid cane components using modelling theory and experiment data, assisting in further understanding the flow of constituents into mixed juice and final bagasse. The work provided an opportunity to understand the factors which affect the distribution of the cane constituents in juice and bagasse. Application of the model should lead to improvements in the overall performance of the milling train.

Expression of PTRF in PC3 cells modulates cholesterol dynamics and the actin cytoskeleton impacting secretion pathways

Expression of caveolin-1 is up-regulated in prostate cancer metastasis and is associated with aggressive recurrence of the disease. Intriguingly, caveolin-1 is also secreted from prostate cancer cell lines and has been identified in secreted prostasomes. Caveolin-1 is the major structural component of the plasma membrane invaginations called caveolae. Co-expression of the coat protein Polymerase I and transcript release factor (PTRF) is required for caveolae formation. We recently found that expression of caveolin-1 in the aggressive prostate cancer cell line PC-3 is not accompanied by PTRF, leading to noncaveolar caveolin-1 lipid rafts. Moreover, ectopic expression of PTRF in PC-3 cells sequesters caveolin-1 into caveolae. Here we quantitatively analyzed the effect of PTRF expression on the PC-3 proteome using stable isotope labeling by amino acids in culture and subcellular proteomics. We show that PTRF reduced the secretion of a subset of proteins including secreted proteases, cytokines, and growth regulatory proteins, partly via a reduction in prostasome secretion. To determine the cellular mechanism accounting for the observed reduction in secreted proteins we analyzed total membrane and the detergent-resistant membrane fractions. Our data show that PTRF expression selectively impaired the recruitment of actin cytoskeletal proteins to the detergent-resistant membrane, which correlated with altered cholesterol distribution in PC-3 cells expressing PTRF. Consistent with this, modulating cellular cholesterol altered the actin cytoskeleton and protein secretion in PC-3 cells. Intriguingly, several proteins that function in ER to Golgi trafficking were reduced by PTRF expression. Taken together, these results suggest that the noncaveolar caveolin-1 found in prostate cancer cells generates a lipid raft microenvironment that accentuates secretion pathways, possibly at the step of ER sorting/exit. Importantly, these effects could be modulated by PTRF expression.

Effective community engagement for project success : building professionals as active participants during the construction phase of projects

Growing community concerns about the ecological, social, cultural and economic impact of housing and urban projects poses new challenges for those who have to deliver them. It is important that these concerns are addressed as part of the community engagement processes on projects. Community engagement is traditionally perceived as the purview of planners and disconnected from the building construction process. This is despite most project approval processes mandating on-going community engagement over the project’s entire lifetime. There is evidence that point to a culture of ambiguity and ambivalence among building professionals about their roles, responsibilities and expectations of community engagement during the construction phase of projects. This has contributed to a culture of distrust between communities and the construction industry. There is a clear need to build capacity among building professionals to empower them as active participants in community engagement processes which can promote better project outcomes and minimise delays and conflicts. This paper describes a process that utilises the Theory of Planned Behaviour as a framework to equip building professionals with the skills they need to engage effectively with local communities during the construction phase of projects.

A systematic review of the literature comparing the practices of dispensing and non-dispensing doctors

Objectives: Some doctors perform the dual roles of prescribing and dispensing pharmaceuticals. The dispensing doctors (DDs) role may give rise to prescribing behaviours that vary from those of non-DDs. The aim of this review was to systematically and comparatively appraise the research evidence related to the practices of DDs. Methods: A systematic search of bibliographic databases and reference lists from selected papers were the sources of the data. Inclusion criteria were papers published in English, between 1970 and 2008 that provided quantitative data comparing the practices of DDs and non-DDs. At least two of the authors abstracted data from all eligible papers using a purpose-made data extraction form. Results: Twenty-one papers were included in this review. Evidence indicated that DDs prescribed more pharmaceutical items and less often generically than non-DDs. There was limited evidence to suggest that DDs prescribed less judiciously and were associated with poor dispensing standards. Patient convenience and access to pharmaceuticals were main reasons for doctors to dispense. Conclusion: DDs can fill an important gap in the provision of pharmaceuticals for their patients especially where health workforce shortages exist. There was evidence the dispensing role influenced prescribing. Patient convenience should be balanced against scarce medical resources, being utilised for dispensing.

Mortality and cost outcomes of elderly trauma patients admitted to intensive care and the general wards of an Australian tertiary referral hospital

Mortality and cost outcomes of elderly intensive care unit (ICU) trauma patients were characterised in a retrospective cohort study from an Australian tertiary ICU. Trauma patients admitted between January 2000 and December 2005 were grouped into three major age categories: aged ≥65 years admitted into ICU (n=272); aged ≥65 years admitted into general ward (n=610) and aged <65 years admitted into ICU (n=1617). Hospital mortality predictors were characterised as odds ratios (OR) using logistic regression. The impact of predictor variables on (log) total hospital-stay costs was determined using least squares regression. An alternate treatment-effects regression model estimated the mortality cost-effect as an endogenous variable. Mortality predictors (P ≤0.0001, comparator: ICU ≥65 years, ventilated) were: ICU <65 not-ventilated (OR 0.014); ICU <65 ventilated (OR 0.090); ICU age ≥65 not-ventilated (OR 0.061) and ward ≥65 (OR 0.086); increasing injury severity score and increased Charlson comorbidity index of 1 and 2, compared with zero (OR 2.21 [1.40 to 3.48] and OR 2.57 [1.45 to 4.55]). The raw mean daily ICU and hospital costs in A$ 2005 (US$) for age <65 and ≥65 to ICU, and ≥65 to the ward were; for year 2000: ICU, $2717 (1462) and $2777 (1494); hospital, $1837 (988) and $1590 (855); ward $933 (502); for year 2005: ICU, $3202 (2393) and $3086 (2307); hospital, $1938 (1449) and $1914 (1431); ward $1180 (882). Cost increments were predicted by age ≥65 and ICU admission, increasing injury severity score, mechanical ventilation, Charlson comorbidity index increments and hospital survival. Mortalitycost-effect was estimated at -63% by least squares regression and -82% by treatment-effects regression model. Patient demographic factors, injury severity and its consequences predict both cost and survival in trauma. The cost mortality effect was biased upwards by conventional least squares regression estimation.