3 results
80 - Antarctica
- Edited by Alistair Harkness, University of New England, Australia, Jessica René Peterson, Southern Oregon University, Matt Bowden, Technological University, Dublin, Cassie Pedersen, Federation University Australia, Joseph Donnermeyer, Ohio State University
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- Book:
- The Encyclopedia of Rural Crime
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 20 June 2023
- Print publication:
- 21 November 2022, pp 319-323
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Summary
Living and working in Antarctica means that the expeditioner is living and working in both an extreme and unusual environment (EUE) and an isolated and confined environment (ICE). Environments that fall into these categories exert stressors on the people within them and research has shown that these stressors alter these people’s normal social interactions. A person’s presence in an extreme, unusual, confined or isolated environment also shapes the nature of transgressions committed.
Whilst it is difficult to give a singular definition that encompasses all that can classify an environment as an EUE and/ or an ICE, it has been suggested that an ‘extreme’ environment can be defined by its level of survivability. By this definition, such an environment is one that a human would be unable to survive in without some form of special training, equipment or supplies (see Suedfield, 2012). An ‘unusual’ environment is more complicated still to definitively classify but the term is most frequently applied when characterizing environments that differ greatly from the common experiences of those living in a modern, technologically advanced and primarily urban society.
An EUE/ICE is characterized by features that include physical parameters (such as temperature), psychological and social parameters (such as limited, restricted or enforced social interactions) and technological parameters (such as reliance upon modern technology). Isolated and confined environments are generally environments where the person is remote from their home and separate from any people who do not also share the space, restricted to that geographical location, and incapable of easily entering or exiting the location even in the event of an emergency. Many of the aspects that define an isolated and confined environment also characterize them as an extreme and unusual environment but the two do not necessarily always overlap.
An Antarctic station qualifies as a permanent, long term, extreme and unusual, confined and isolated environment. Humans do not have the capability of surviving the Antarctic environment alone. Inhospitable weather conditions and extremely low native temperatures make it highly unlikely that a human could survive long enough to build some form of shelter, somehow melt the ice into water or turn one of the few native animal species into a suitable dinner.
Hemodialysis Clinics in Flood Zones: A Case Study of Hurricane Harvey
- Rebecca Kaiser, Ibraheem M. Karaye, Temitope Olokunlade, Tracy Anne Hammond, Daniel W. Goldberg, Jennifer A. Horney
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- Journal:
- Prehospital and Disaster Medicine / Volume 36 / Issue 2 / April 2021
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 01 February 2021, pp. 135-140
- Print publication:
- April 2021
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Introduction:
Hurricane Harvey (2017) forced the closure of hemodialysis centers across Harris County, Texas (USA) disrupting the provision of dialysis services. This study aims to estimate the percentage of hemodialysis clinics flooded after Harvey, to identify the proportion of such clinics located in high-risk flood zones, and to assess the sensitivity of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) for estimation of flood risk.
Methods:Data on 124 hemodialysis clinics in Harris County were extracted from Medicare.gov and geocoded using ArcGIS Online. The FIRMs were overlaid to identify the flood zone designation of each hemodialysis clinic.
Results:Twenty-one percent (26 of 124) of hemodialysis clinics in Harris County flooded after Harvey. Of the flooded clinics, 57.7% were in a high-risk flood zone, 30.8% were within 1km of a high-risk flood zone, and 11.5% were not in or near a high-risk flood zone. The FIRMs had a sensitivity of 58%, misidentifying 42% (11 of 26) of the clinics flooded.
Conclusion:Hurricanes are associated with severe disruptions of medical services, including hemodialysis. With one-quarter of Harris County in the 100-year floodplain, projected increases in the frequency and severity of disasters, and inadequate updates of flood zone designation maps, the implementation of new regulations that address the development of hemodialysis facilities in high-risk flood areas should be considered.
Nine - Benefit tourism and EU migrant citizens: real-world experiences
- Edited by John Hudson, University of York, Catherine Needham, University of Birmingham, Elke Heins
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- Book:
- Social Policy Review 29
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 05 April 2022
- Print publication:
- 28 June 2017, pp 181-198
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Summary
Introduction
According to the ‘welfare magnet theory’, generous welfare states are said to be negatively affected by immigration, as migrants may be attracted by high welfare benefits or services. In a nutshell: the higher the benefits are, ceteris paribus, the higher the number of (unskilled) immigrants entering the country (Borjas, 1999). In fact the dominant interpretative pattern within the political discourse leading up to the Brexit referendum was that European Union (EU) migrant citizens were attracted to the UK by its relatively generous welfare benefits and services. Prime Minister David Cameron in 2014 claimed:
‘Someone coming to the UK from elsewhere in Europe, who's employed on the medium wage and who has 2 children back in their home country, they today will receive around £700 per month in benefits in the UK. That is more than twice what they’d receive in Germany, and 3 times more than they would receive in France. No wonder so many people want to come to Britain.’ (Cameron, 2014)
However, empirical evidence on the impact of welfare state generosity on migration flows within the EU is rather mixed. De Giorgi and Pellizzari (2009) find weak evidence for welfare magnets, while others reject the magnet hypothesis and argue that labour market opportunities and networks largely determine migration flows (Giulietti and Wahba 2012; Zimmermann et al, 2012; Giulietti et al, 2013; Skupnik 2014). The suggestion that EU migrant citizens will create a smaller net benefit (or larger net cost) in countries with tax-financed benefits, such as the UK, than in countries with predominantly insurance-based welfare states (Ruhs 2015) is also far from clear, as the financing structure is not necessarily a robust indicator for the ease of access and the level of social rights available to EU migrant citizens (Bruzelius et al, 2016). Benefits important to working-age EU migrant citizens, such as Child Benefit, Housing Allowance and in-work benefits, are largely tax financed independently of the overall financing structure of the welfare state. Research by Dustmann and Frattini (2014) found that the migration of EU citizens to the UK provides a clear economic benefit, as the average fiscal contribution of EU migrant citizens is higher than among British nationals.