title: Building beyond formality: Navigating Jamaica’s informal construction sector through class, culture and economic resilience

authors: Bennett, Sharayne

subjects: informal economy

abstract: This doctoral thesis is an exploration of Jamaica’s informal construction sector, unpacking its labour distinctiveness, actors, and activities while examining its deep-seated connections to the island’s historical, cultural, and socio-economic context. Through nine months of ethnographic engagement with an informal building construction crew, the thesis provides insights into the motivations of workers, interactions in the workplace, the culture of informal construction, and contributions to the national economy.
At its core, the study questions the persistence of Jamaica’s informal construction industry within the hegemonic context of a Western market economy. In this context, I examine the dynamics of class culture, including the rituals and forms of exchange among workers in this industry. The blurred lines between formal and informal aspects of building construction as well as the reproduction of technical knowledge also hint at reasons for the tenacity of the informal economy.
I critically engage with the concept of precarity to examine the long history of precarious lives in Jamaica. I explore the dichotomy of alienation versus ownership, emphasising the informal sector’s capacity to foster a sense of ownership in contrast to the alienation often experienced in formal systems. I also shine a light on gender disparities, discuss performances of masculinity and unveil the roles and experiences of women in this male-dominated environment. Finally, the study addresses the significant impacts of the 2019 Sars Cov2 pandemic on the social and economic realities within informal construction.

text: Building beyond formality: Navigating Jamaica’s informal construction sector through class, culture and economic resilience This doctoral thesis is an exploration of Jamaica’s informal construction sector, unpacking its labour distinctiveness, actors, and activities while examining its deep-seated connections to the island’s historical, cultural, and socio-economic context. Through nine months of ethnographic engagement with an informal building construction crew, the thesis provides insights into the motivations of workers, interactions in the workplace, the culture of informal construction, and contributions to the national economy.
At its core, the study questions the persistence of Jamaica’s informal construction industry within the hegemonic context of a Western market economy. In this context, I examine the dynamics of class culture, including the rituals and forms of exchange among workers in this industry. The blurred lines between formal and informal aspects of building construction as well as the reproduction of technical knowledge also hint at reasons for the tenacity of the informal economy.
I critically engage with the concept of precarity to examine the long history of precarious lives in Jamaica. I explore the dichotomy of alienation versus ownership, emphasising the informal sector’s capacity to foster a sense of ownership in contrast to the alienation often experienced in formal systems. I also shine a light on gender disparities, discuss performances of masculinity and unveil the roles and experiences of women in this male-dominated environment. Finally, the study addresses the significant impacts of the 2019 Sars Cov2 pandemic on the social and economic realities within informal construction.

year: 2024-11-27

title: Magnetic flux braiding: Force-free equilibria and current sheets

authors: Longbottom, A.W.

subjects: MHD-plasmas-sun

abstract: We use a numerical, nonlinear, multigrid magnetic relaxation technique to investigate the generation of current sheets in three-dimensional magnetic flux braiding experiments. We are able to catalog the relaxed nonlinear force-free equilibria resulting from the application of deformations to an initially undisturbed region of plasma containing a uniform vertical magnetic field. The deformations are manifested by imposing motions on the bounding planes to which the magnetic field is anchored. Once imposed, the new distribution of magnetic footpoints are then taken to be fixed, so that the rest of the plasma must then relax to a new equilibrium configuration. For the class of footpoint motions that we have examined, we find that singular and nonsingular equilibria can be generated. By singular we mean that within the limits imposed by numerical resolution, we find that there is no convergence to a well-defined equilibrium as the number of grid points in the numerical domain is increased. These singular equilibria contain current “sheets” of ever increasing current intensity and decreasing width; they occur when the footpoint motions exceed a certain threshold and must include both twist and shear in order to be effective. On the basis of these results, we contend that flux braiding will indeed result in significant current generation. We discuss the implications of our results for coronal heating.

text: Magnetic flux braiding: Force-free equilibria and current sheets We use a numerical, nonlinear, multigrid magnetic relaxation technique to investigate the generation of current sheets in three-dimensional magnetic flux braiding experiments. We are able to catalog the relaxed nonlinear force-free equilibria resulting from the application of deformations to an initially undisturbed region of plasma containing a uniform vertical magnetic field. The deformations are manifested by imposing motions on the bounding planes to which the magnetic field is anchored. Once imposed, the new distribution of magnetic footpoints are then taken to be fixed, so that the rest of the plasma must then relax to a new equilibrium configuration. For the class of footpoint motions that we have examined, we find that singular and nonsingular equilibria can be generated. By singular we mean that within the limits imposed by numerical resolution, we find that there is no convergence to a well-defined equilibrium as the number of grid points in the numerical domain is increased. These singular equilibria contain current “sheets” of ever increasing current intensity and decreasing width; they occur when the footpoint motions exceed a certain threshold and must include both twist and shear in order to be effective. On the basis of these results, we contend that flux braiding will indeed result in significant current generation. We discuss the implications of our results for coronal heating.

year: 1998-06

title: Characteristics and outcomes of patients with small cell lung cancer - findings from a New Zealand SACT database

authors: Lawrenson, Ross

abstract: Background Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) SCLC generally presents late and is treated with systemic anti-cancer treatment (SACT). Māori are over represented in Lung Cancer statistics but disparities between Māori and non-Māori in patterns of care and survival from SCLC have not been previously reported. 
Methods We used the custom-built SACT database collected by the Oncology Department at Waikato Hospital NZ, which recorded comprehensive lung cancer patient factors and SACT regimens from 2000 to 2021. We reported summary statistics to review the treatment by ethnicity, explored Kaplan Meier all-cause survival of patients, and estimated the unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios of surviving 12 months. 
Results 742 patients with SCLC were included in this study, with 43% identified as Māori. Approximately 75% of patients received SACT, and there was no difference in the uptake of SACT between Māori and non-Māori. The median survival for SCLC was 8.5 months. After adjustment, patients treated with carboplatin plus etoposide (with/without durvalumab) or cisplatin plus etoposide were 1.5 times or 4.9 times respectively more likely to survive 12 months than those without a SACT regimen.
Conclusion There was no significant evidence of disparities in patterns of care and outcomes between Māori and non-Māori with SCLC. Carboplatin/cisplatin in combination with etoposide remained the primary first line SACT regimen for patients with SCLC in this New Zealand cancer treatment centre.

text: Characteristics and outcomes of patients with small cell lung cancer - findings from a New Zealand SACT database Background Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) SCLC generally presents late and is treated with systemic anti-cancer treatment (SACT). Māori are over represented in Lung Cancer statistics but disparities between Māori and non-Māori in patterns of care and survival from SCLC have not been previously reported. 
Methods We used the custom-built SACT database collected by the Oncology Department at Waikato Hospital NZ, which recorded comprehensive lung cancer patient factors and SACT regimens from 2000 to 2021. We reported summary statistics to review the treatment by ethnicity, explored Kaplan Meier all-cause survival of patients, and estimated the unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios of surviving 12 months. 
Results 742 patients with SCLC were included in this study, with 43% identified as Māori. Approximately 75% of patients received SACT, and there was no difference in the uptake of SACT between Māori and non-Māori. The median survival for SCLC was 8.5 months. After adjustment, patients treated with carboplatin plus etoposide (with/without durvalumab) or cisplatin plus etoposide were 1.5 times or 4.9 times respectively more likely to survive 12 months than those without a SACT regimen.
Conclusion There was no significant evidence of disparities in patterns of care and outcomes between Māori and non-Māori with SCLC. Carboplatin/cisplatin in combination with etoposide remained the primary first line SACT regimen for patients with SCLC in this New Zealand cancer treatment centre.

year: 2023-02-10