title: Risky times: Hazard management and the tyranny of the present

authors: White, Iain

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: This paper examines how the processes and practices of hazard management skew decision-making towards current concerns, shaping the treatment of the future in the present. We reveal how norms of science and policy combine to manage the complexity, uncertainty and intangibility inherent in working to long-term time horizons by defining, bounding and codifying how we understand the future. These processes, we argue, frequently but not inevitably, constrain the influence of long-term considerations, resulting in ‘hazardscapes’ where risks become embedded spatially, transferred temporally and difficult for future generations to reverse. We introduce the notion of a ‘tyranny of the present’ as a means to critique the ways in which the future is heard in risk management, that is, how the future is known, bounded, and incorporated, and the legacies that this may create. Overall, we highlight how more effective management of risks is not just a matter of better data or improved policy, rather that discourses of risk are subject to a ‘presentist’ bias, the underpinnings of which need to be better understood in order to make more effective decisions for future generations.

text: Risky times: Hazard management and the tyranny of the present This paper examines how the processes and practices of hazard management skew decision-making towards current concerns, shaping the treatment of the future in the present. We reveal how norms of science and policy combine to manage the complexity, uncertainty and intangibility inherent in working to long-term time horizons by defining, bounding and codifying how we understand the future. These processes, we argue, frequently but not inevitably, constrain the influence of long-term considerations, resulting in ‘hazardscapes’ where risks become embedded spatially, transferred temporally and difficult for future generations to reverse. We introduce the notion of a ‘tyranny of the present’ as a means to critique the ways in which the future is heard in risk management, that is, how the future is known, bounded, and incorporated, and the legacies that this may create. Overall, we highlight how more effective management of risks is not just a matter of better data or improved policy, rather that discourses of risk are subject to a ‘presentist’ bias, the underpinnings of which need to be better understood in order to make more effective decisions for future generations.

year: 2017

title: Medical honey for wound care—Still the ‘Latest Resort’?

authors: Simon, Arne

subjects: medical honey

abstract: While the ancient Egyptians and Greeks used honey for wound care, and a broad spectrum of wounds are treated all over the world with natural unprocessed honeys from different sources, Medihoney™ has been one of the first medically certified honeys licensed as a medical product for professional wound care in Europe and Australia. Our experience with medical honey in wound care refers only to this product. In this review, we put our clinical experience into a broader perspective to comment on the use of medical honey in wound care. More prospective randomized studies on a wider range of types of wounds are needed to confirm the safety and efficacy of medical honey in wound care. Nonetheless, the current evidence confirming the antibacterial properties and additional beneficial effects of medical honey on wound healing should encourage other wound care professionals to use CE-certified honey dressings with standardized antibacterial activity, such as Medihoney™ products, as an alternative treatment approach in wounds of different natures.

text: Medical honey for wound care—Still the ‘Latest Resort’? While the ancient Egyptians and Greeks used honey for wound care, and a broad spectrum of wounds are treated all over the world with natural unprocessed honeys from different sources, Medihoney™ has been one of the first medically certified honeys licensed as a medical product for professional wound care in Europe and Australia. Our experience with medical honey in wound care refers only to this product. In this review, we put our clinical experience into a broader perspective to comment on the use of medical honey in wound care. More prospective randomized studies on a wider range of types of wounds are needed to confirm the safety and efficacy of medical honey in wound care. Nonetheless, the current evidence confirming the antibacterial properties and additional beneficial effects of medical honey on wound healing should encourage other wound care professionals to use CE-certified honey dressings with standardized antibacterial activity, such as Medihoney™ products, as an alternative treatment approach in wounds of different natures.

year: 2009

title: Creating culturally-safe schools for Māori students

authors: Macfarlane, Angus

subjects: education

abstract: In order to better understand the present trends in New Zealand’s schooling contexts, there is a clarion call for educators to develop sensitivity and sensibility towards the cultural backgrounds and experiences of Māori students. This paper reports on the work of four scholars who share research that has been undertaken in educational settings with high numbers of Māori students, and discusses the importance of creating culturally-safe schools – places that allow and enable students to be who and what they are. The theoretical frameworks drawn on are based on both a life partnership analogy as well as on a socio-cultural perspective on human development and learning. The Māori worldview presented in this paper is connected to the Treaty of Waitangi, The Educultural Wheel and the Hikairo Rationale. Data were collected from two ethnographic case studies and analysed through these frameworks. Practical suggestions are then made for using restorative practices and creating reciprocal relationships in classrooms within an environment of care. The paper reports on an evidence-based approach to creating culturally-safe schools for Māori students.

text: Creating culturally-safe schools for Māori students In order to better understand the present trends in New Zealand’s schooling contexts, there is a clarion call for educators to develop sensitivity and sensibility towards the cultural backgrounds and experiences of Māori students. This paper reports on the work of four scholars who share research that has been undertaken in educational settings with high numbers of Māori students, and discusses the importance of creating culturally-safe schools – places that allow and enable students to be who and what they are. The theoretical frameworks drawn on are based on both a life partnership analogy as well as on a socio-cultural perspective on human development and learning. The Māori worldview presented in this paper is connected to the Treaty of Waitangi, The Educultural Wheel and the Hikairo Rationale. Data were collected from two ethnographic case studies and analysed through these frameworks. Practical suggestions are then made for using restorative practices and creating reciprocal relationships in classrooms within an environment of care. The paper reports on an evidence-based approach to creating culturally-safe schools for Māori students.

year: 2007