Ecological,Groundwater, and Human Health Risk Assessment in a Mining Region of Nicaragua

The objective of the present study was to integrate the relative risk from mercury exposure to stream biota, groundwater, and humans in the Río Artiguas (Sucio) river basin, Nicaragua, where local gold mining occurs. A hazard quotient was used as a common exchange rate in probabilistic estimations of exposure and effects by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The endpoint for stream organisms was the lethal no‐observed‐effect concentration (NOECs), for groundwater the WHO guideline and the inhibitory Hg concentrations in bacteria (IC), and for humans the tolerable daily intake (TDI) and the benchmark dose level with an uncertainty factor of 10 (BMDLs_0.1). Macroinvertebrates and fish in the contaminated river are faced with a higher risk to suffer from exposure to Hg than humans eating contaminated fish and bacteria living in the groundwater. The river sediment is the most hazardous source for the macroinvertebrates, and macroinvertebrates make up the highest risk for fish. The distribution of body concentrations of Hg in fish in the mining areas of the basin may exceed the distribution of endpoint values with close to 100% probability. Similarly, the Hg concentration in cord blood of humans feeding on fish from the river was predicted to exceed the BMDLs_0.1 with about 10% probability. Most of the risk to the groundwater quality is confined to the vicinity of the gold refining plants and along the river, with a probability of about 20% to exceed the guideline value.     

The exponentiated-log-logistic geometric distribution: Dual activation

ABSTRACT

The log-logistic distribution is commonly used to model lifetime data. We propose a wider distribution, named the exponentiated log-logistic geometric distribution, based on a double activation approach. We obtain the quantile function, ordinary moments, and generating function. The method of maximum likelihood is used to estimate the model parameters. We propose a new extended regression model based on the logarithm of the exponentiated log-logistic geometric distribution. This regression model can be very useful in the analysis of real data and could provide better fits than other special regression models. The potentiality of the new models is illustrated by means of two applications to real lifetime data sets.     

Are Conditional Cash Transfer programs for women? Engendering the Philippine Pantawid

Evaluation studies reveal positive outcomes of Conditional Cash Transfer program. This program, however, warrants an analysis using the lens of gender. Based on interview data among selected Pantawid's national, regional, provincial, and municipal personnel, as well as secondary data, this article finds that the program has limited impact on gender justice for it restricts the agency of mothers as grantees. For a social development program to perform democratizing functions, it must challenge unequal, patriarchal relations.     

Working on Treatment Teams: Educating Social Work Students to Function as Addiction Specialists within Interdisciplinary Groups

Social workers specializing in the addictions field invariably work with multiple disciplines. Any intervention must be organized in consideration of various fields of practice such as mental health, criminal justice, child welfare, and health care. As part of their education, social workers become adept at understanding the influence of factors associated with physical, mental, and social functioning. Thus, they learn to appreciate the need for interdisciplinary collaboration. However, once students become practitioners, they are often left on their own to solidify their specific role as addiction specialists among several other professionals. Working as a member of an interdisciplinary team can be taught in the classroom. The authors apply Bronstein’s model for team collaboration to build a method for teaching interdisciplinary work specific to the role of the addiction specialist. Within the interdisciplinary team model, students take on the various team roles and decide the importance of these roles in a substance use case study. They are taught how to assess, diagnose, identify appropriate evidence-based methods, build client objectives and goals, solidify concrete action plans, and evaluate effectiveness. As these methods have yet to be researched in the classroom, the authors offer recommendations for evaluation and future research.     

Study tour examines health care systems in Germany, Holland--Part I: A comparison of three health care systems

In October 1992, the American College of Physician Executives sponsored a study tour to Berlin, Germany, and Amsterdam, Holland. Meetings were held with government officials, third-party payers, and providers, and onsite visits were made at hospitals, clinics, and academic centers. The purpose was to study the health care delivery system in those countries and to share some insights with the countries' hosts on the U.S. system. Beginning in this issue of the journal, 5 of the 10 study tour participants describe their impressions of the tour and of the health care systems in the countries that were visited. This first report compares the health care delivery systems of the United States, Germany, and Holland. In subsequent reports, the German and Dutch health care systems will be described in greater detail and the ability of the United States to adopt European health care systems will be assessed.     

Women Reentering the Community: Understanding Addiction and Trauma-Related Characteristics of Recidivism

Women represent 26% of those arrested for serious crimes; many have posttraumatic stress and co-occurring substance use disorders, which may influence recidivism. This study examined 57 women residing in a community re-entry program after exiting prison. Participants completed the Trauma Symptom Inventory and Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory. A discriminant function analysis accounted for 34% of between-group variability and provided a profile of women who recidivated. Women who recidivated had greater alcohol dependence and lower rates of sexual dysfunction and sexual concerns. Practitioners should consider potential links between substance abuse, trauma, and sexual behavior in treatment settings.     

Maternal activism in comparative perspective: Past,present, and future

This essay offers a comparative assessment of past and present contributions to the study of maternal activism within feminist scholarship broadly understood while also providing some thoughts about its future directions. While typically defined as adopting a maternal frame to pursue a social or political cause, this essay posits maternal activism as an evolving and contested field of inquiry. I start this analysis by discussing early critiques of motherhood as a patriarchal institution within liberal feminism and other competing frameworks that conceive maternalism as a distinct modality of thought and action. I then underscore the evolving character of the field by examining scholarly works on Black, Indigenous, and Latin American maternal activism. Building upon past and present analyses, and in line with their evolving character, I formulate a provisional definition of maternal activism as a caretaking function sustained through direct action inside and outside the household and beyond that activist-scholars interested in exploring future directions of maternal activism can engage and re-envision. This essay contributes to existing analyses by highlighting the transformative character of maternal activism scholarship.