title: New Zealand's 'Abuse in Care' report, childless cat ladies, and narratives of personal experience: A response to Talbi's 'The Epistemic Import of Narratives'

authors: Ulatowski, Joseph W.

subjects: disagreement

abstract: Convincing others to take up a position different from the one that they currently occupy can be extraordinarily difficult when it comes to deeply held social and political commitments. In ‘The Epistemic Import of Narratives’ (2024), Merel Talbi argues that narratives of personal experience can be employed to bridge an epistemic divide that exists between two people who maintain deeply held commitments on different sides of a social and political issue. We build our reaction to Talbi’s work around two main themes:

(1) We argue that the persuasive nature of narratives of personal experience should not be framed as solely the result of the narrative structure, and;

(2) We believe that narratives of personal experience may be persuasive when they mesh well with some part of the audience’s own self-narrative.

text: New Zealand's 'Abuse in Care' report, childless cat ladies, and narratives of personal experience: A response to Talbi's 'The Epistemic Import of Narratives' Convincing others to take up a position different from the one that they currently occupy can be extraordinarily difficult when it comes to deeply held social and political commitments. In ‘The Epistemic Import of Narratives’ (2024), Merel Talbi argues that narratives of personal experience can be employed to bridge an epistemic divide that exists between two people who maintain deeply held commitments on different sides of a social and political issue. We build our reaction to Talbi’s work around two main themes:

(1) We argue that the persuasive nature of narratives of personal experience should not be framed as solely the result of the narrative structure, and;

(2) We believe that narratives of personal experience may be persuasive when they mesh well with some part of the audience’s own self-narrative.

year: 2024

title: Determinants of timing performance on the peak procedure

authors: McHugh, Mark Edward

abstract: The performance of brown shaver hens gallus gallus domesticus, was investigated using a peak procedure as a method to examine the timing abilities of an animal. Peak procedure involves using a combination of peak interval and fixed interval trials, where the peak intervals are four to 10 times long than the FI. Responses during the longer PI trials are not reinforced and do not require a response to end the trial. The Peak procedure generates a pattern of responding that increases to a maximum at the time where behaviour is normally reinforced. The research was conducted on six domestic hens, which underwent FI schedule pretraining and then were introduced to peak testing, FI 20-s/PI 200-s, FI 40/PI 400-s and FI 20-s/PI 80-s schedules. The First 3 condition involved FI 20-s PI 200-s and FI 40-s and PI 400-s schedules, with no house light on during the sessions. The distribution showed a peak at or near the expected time to reinforcement, followed by a steady decrease in responding. The extended period of the trials showed a resonances pattern of responding during the remainder of the trial, with some birds showing resurgence. Condition 7 used FI 20 PI 200-s schedules with a houselight turn on for the whole duration. The response rate increased to the highest point at or near the expected time of reinforcement for all birds, followed by a decrease in responding to a minimum of 1 peck per second. The remainder of the trial displayed a resonances pattern of responding, with half the birds showing resurgences. Condition 8 used FI 20-s PI 200-s schedules with a houselight on during the trial and ITI and off during reinforcement. Patterns of responding were similar to what was seen in the previous conditions. The final condition used FI 20-s PI 80-s schedules with a houselight on during the trial and ITI and off during reinforcement. Responding was similar to the previous conditions with an increase in responding reaching a maximum at or near the expected time to reinforcement and a decrease followed by a resonances pattern of responding for the duration of the trial.

text: Determinants of timing performance on the peak procedure The performance of brown shaver hens gallus gallus domesticus, was investigated using a peak procedure as a method to examine the timing abilities of an animal. Peak procedure involves using a combination of peak interval and fixed interval trials, where the peak intervals are four to 10 times long than the FI. Responses during the longer PI trials are not reinforced and do not require a response to end the trial. The Peak procedure generates a pattern of responding that increases to a maximum at the time where behaviour is normally reinforced. The research was conducted on six domestic hens, which underwent FI schedule pretraining and then were introduced to peak testing, FI 20-s/PI 200-s, FI 40/PI 400-s and FI 20-s/PI 80-s schedules. The First 3 condition involved FI 20-s PI 200-s and FI 40-s and PI 400-s schedules, with no house light on during the sessions. The distribution showed a peak at or near the expected time to reinforcement, followed by a steady decrease in responding. The extended period of the trials showed a resonances pattern of responding during the remainder of the trial, with some birds showing resurgence. Condition 7 used FI 20 PI 200-s schedules with a houselight turn on for the whole duration. The response rate increased to the highest point at or near the expected time of reinforcement for all birds, followed by a decrease in responding to a minimum of 1 peck per second. The remainder of the trial displayed a resonances pattern of responding, with half the birds showing resurgences. Condition 8 used FI 20-s PI 200-s schedules with a houselight on during the trial and ITI and off during reinforcement. Patterns of responding were similar to what was seen in the previous conditions. The final condition used FI 20-s PI 80-s schedules with a houselight on during the trial and ITI and off during reinforcement. Responding was similar to the previous conditions with an increase in responding reaching a maximum at or near the expected time to reinforcement and a decrease followed by a resonances pattern of responding for the duration of the trial.

year: 2012

title: Māori men and the indirect procurement and sharing of prescription medications

authors: Hodgetts, Darrin

subjects: Māori men

abstract: Māori men have higher rates of many diseases and lower life expectancy than other population groups in New Zealand. The general consensus is that these health inequalities are due to the inequitable distribution of the social determinants of health; for example, education, employment, income and housing, and were largely driven by colonization and the social and economic marginalization of Māori. Health care factors, including reluctance to consult doctors or late presentation, are part of this equation, but do not fully explain the disparities in health between Māori men and other population groups. As part of our ongoing work in this area, we draw on a focus group discussion with seven Māori community health workers to provide a preliminary analysis of how some Māori people access and use medications. Particular attention is given to the emergent practice of Māori women presenting to general practitioners (GPs) with proxy symptoms to obtain medications for their male partners. This practice exemplifies a range of strategies that some whānau (family) have developed to navigate the health system and overcome the reluctance of some men to engage with the medical profession. The practice raises issues relating to the nature of “primary” and “whānau” care, accessibility of medical services and medications, adherence to medication regimes and the dynamics of doctor–patient relations.

text: Māori men and the indirect procurement and sharing of prescription medications Māori men have higher rates of many diseases and lower life expectancy than other population groups in New Zealand. The general consensus is that these health inequalities are due to the inequitable distribution of the social determinants of health; for example, education, employment, income and housing, and were largely driven by colonization and the social and economic marginalization of Māori. Health care factors, including reluctance to consult doctors or late presentation, are part of this equation, but do not fully explain the disparities in health between Māori men and other population groups. As part of our ongoing work in this area, we draw on a focus group discussion with seven Māori community health workers to provide a preliminary analysis of how some Māori people access and use medications. Particular attention is given to the emergent practice of Māori women presenting to general practitioners (GPs) with proxy symptoms to obtain medications for their male partners. This practice exemplifies a range of strategies that some whānau (family) have developed to navigate the health system and overcome the reluctance of some men to engage with the medical profession. The practice raises issues relating to the nature of “primary” and “whānau” care, accessibility of medical services and medications, adherence to medication regimes and the dynamics of doctor–patient relations.

year: 2011