Screening for alcoholism in New Zealand prison inmates

1988 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony McLean
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Justice System ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Classification Rule ◽  
Prison Inmates ◽  
Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Sound Detection ◽  
Detection Instrument ◽  
Assessment Procedures

The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) was administered to 129 male and 102 female prison inmates. Use of the usual classification rule for the MAST resulted in 71% and 65% of the samples classified as “alcoholic”, far higher than the incidence of alcoholism in studies which used overseas prisoners. Item analyses conducted with these data, and reconsideration of data from previous New Zealand studies using the MAST, indicate that it is a sound detection instrument. The high incidence of alcoholism here therefore probably reflects the high sensitivity of the MAST by comparison with assessment procedures based on traditional alcoholism criteria, although New Zealand offender groups seem to score higher than comparable overseas offenders and the classification rule may be slightly too liberal. Accordingly, the use of a higher cut-off score seems appropriate when using MAST score in classifying individuals. A higher cut-off score still resulted in around 50–60% of inmates being classified as alcoholics. The likely benefits of rehabilitative efforts within the criminal justice system focusing on alcohol abuse are discussed.

The utility of rapid Group A streptococcus molecular testing compared with throat culture for the diagnosis of Group A streptococcal pharyngitis in a high-incidence rheumatic fever population.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Taylor ◽  
Susan Morpeth ◽  
Rachel Webb ◽  
Susan Taylor
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Rheumatic Fever ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Molecular Test ◽  
Throat Culture ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Group A ◽  
Sensitivity Specificity ◽  
Culture Negative

Background: Group A Streptococcus (GAS) causes significant morbidity and mortality in New Zealand and is responsible for invasive disease and immune sequelae including acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF). Early treatment of GAS pharyngitis reduces the risk of ARF. In settings with a high-burden of GAS disease, a rapid GAS pharyngitis diagnostic test with a strong negative predictive value is needed to enable prompt and accurate treatment. Methods: This prospective study compares the Xpert® Xpress Strep A molecular test (Cepheid) to throat culture and a second molecular method, the BioGX Group A Streptococcus -OSR for BD MAX TM for the diagnosis of GAS pharyngitis. Throat swabs were collected from the emergency department and wards of Middlemore Hospital, New Zealand. The BioGX Group A Streptococcus - OSR for BD MAX TM , contributes to the composite gold-standard: throat culture or both molecular methods positive. Basic demographic, clinical and laboratory data was collected. Results: 205/214 swabs were suitable for analysis. 28/205 (13.7%) were GAS culture positive, 45/205 (22%) Xpert® Xpress Strep A positive and 38/205 (18.5%) BioGX positive. Compared to culture, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the Xpert® Xpress Strep A molecular test were 100%, 90.4%, 62.2% and 100%, respectively. Compared to the composite gold-standard, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV and were 100%, 95.8%, 84.4% and 100% respectively. 17 samples were Xpert® Xpress positive but culture-negative; 6 of these 17 swabs represent true positives with evidence of recent GAS infection. Ten samples were culture negative but both Xpert® Xpress and BioGX positive. Conclusion: The Xpert® Xpress Strep A molecular test is highly sensitive with a strong negative predictive value and rapid turnaround time. It can be safely introduced as a first line test for throat swabs in a high-incidence ARF population.

Public Attitudes Toward New Prisons in New Zealand and Deficit Narratives: A Quantitative Survey

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 348-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adele N. Norris ◽  
Kalym Lipsey
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Prison Population ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Quantitative Survey

The imprisonment rate in New Zealand ranks seventh among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Yet the imprisonment of Indigenous people is on par with the United States, which has the world’s highest incarceration rate. Almost 70% of the prison population in New Zealand is comprised of people racialized as non-White. In 2016, the National Government proposed to spend $2.5 billion over a 5-year period to build new prisons (1,500 prison beds) to accommodate a growing prison population. This study assessed public attitudes toward the need for more prisons and the equity of treatment of individuals within the criminal justice system. Findings from a 2016 and 2017 quantitative survey of 5,000 respondents each year revealed that roughly half of the respondents believed the proposed spending for new prisons to be extremely to somewhat necessary. A large proportion of respondents also believed Māori and Pākehā, if convicted of the same crime, are treated similarly within the criminal justice system. New Zealand scholars have critiqued news media coverage of contentious sociopolitical issues, such as crime and prisons, for employing tactics that have worked to construct a morally and culturally deficit “Other” while normalizing whiteness, rendering it invisible and raceless. This article concludes that this process masks racial disparities of individuals located within the criminal justice system and preserves the ideal that prisons are a normal function of the social landscape.

Child Participation: Overcoming Disparity between New Zealand’s Family Court and Out-of-court Dispute Resolution Processes

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 658-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Taylor
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Family Court ◽  
New Family ◽  
The Family ◽  
Major Reform ◽  
Children’S Views ◽  
Resolution Processes

This article considers children’s right to participate in the context of private law disputes concerning their post-separation, day-to-day care and contact arrangements. In New Zealand the approach to ascertaining children’s views has been both long-standing and systematic for contested proceedings within the Family Court (via children’s legal representatives and judicial meetings with children). However, major reform of the family justice system in 2014 shifted the emphasis to new out-of-court processes for resolving post-separation parenting arrangements. The reforms were disappointingly silent on the issue of children’s participation in the new Family Dispute Resolution services, particularly mediation. A disparity has thus arisen between opportunities for children’s engagement in New Zealand’s in-court and out-of-court dispute resolution processes. Research evidence and international developments in Australia and England and Wales are reviewed for the guidance they can offer in remedying this in New Zealand and elsewhere.

scholarly journals Women's Experiences of the Justice System

1997 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 649
Author(s):  
J Morris
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Women’S Experiences ◽  
Women's Experiences ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Law Commission

This article considers the impact of gender upon women's experiences of the New Zealand justice system, as lawyers and clients. As well as summarising study and survey material, it draws upon information provided to the Law Commission in the course of its project on Women's Acces to Justice: He Putanga mo nga Wahine ki te Tika. It concludes that women are still significantly disadvantaged by the justice system as a result of their gender and that there is an ongoing need for debate and consideration of these issues if women's access to justice is to be improved.

scholarly journals Judicial Discretion in Sentencing: A Justice System that is No Longer Just?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sean J. Mallett
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Individual Case ◽  
Regional Disparity ◽  
Judicial Discretion ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Synthesis Approach

<p>One of the fundamental principles of the criminal law is consistency: like offenders must be treated alike. However, research has shown that when it comes to sentencing in New Zealand there is in fact substantial regional disparity in the penalty imposed on similarly situated offenders. The situation is unacceptable, and undermines the integrity of the criminal justice system. This paper will explore three different mechanisms for guiding judicial discretion in the pursuit of sentencing consistency. It will undertake an analysis of mandatory sentences and the ‘instinctive synthesis’ approach, both of which will be shown to be unsatisfactory. Instead, the paper will argue that the establishment of a Sentencing Council with a mandate to draft presumptively binding guidelines is the most appropriate way forward for New Zealand. This option finds the correct equilibrium between giving a judge sufficient discretion to tailor a sentence that is appropriate in the circumstances of the individual case, yet limiting discretion enough to achieve consistency between cases.</p>

Identification of macrotroponin T: findings from a case report and non-reproducible troponin T results

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Lam ◽  
Leah Ha ◽  
Campbell Heron ◽  
Weldon Chiu ◽  
Campbell Kyle
Keyword(s):  
Troponin T ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Cardiac Injury ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
High Molecular Weight Complex ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Laboratory Results ◽  
Clinical Consequences ◽  
Very High ◽  
Biochemical Features

Abstract Objectives Macrotroponin is due to cardiac troponin (cTn) binding to endogenous cTn autoantibodies. While previous studies showed a high incidence of macrotroponin affecting cTnI assays, reports of macrotroponin T, particularly without cTnI reactivity, have been rare. Although the clinical significance of macrotroponin is not fully understood, macroenzymes and complexes are recognised to cause confusion in interpretation of laboratory results. The potential for adverse clinical consequences due to misinterpretation of affected results is very high. Methods We describe four cases of macrotroponin T with persistently low high sensitivity cTnT (hs-cTnT) by the 9 min compared to the 18 min variant of the assay. Three cases were serendipitously identified due to the use of a lot number of Roche hs-cTnT affected by non-reproducible results, necessitating measurement of cTnT in duplicate. We identified and characterised these macrotroponin specimens by immunoglobulin depletion (Protein A and PEG precipitation), mixing studies with EDTA and recombinant cTnT. Results In cases of macro-cTnT, a lower result occurred on the hs-cTnT using the 9 min compared to 18 min variant assay (ratio of 9–18 min hs-cTnT <0.80). Mixing studies with recombinant cTnT or EDTA demonstrated a difference in recovery vs. controls. One of these patients demonstrated a high molecular weight complex for cTnI and cTnT demonstrating a macrocomplex involving both cTn. This patient demonstrated a rise and fall in cTn when measured by several commercial assays consistent with genuine acute cardiac injury. Conclusions We identified several cases of macro-cTnT and described associated clinical and biochemical features.

Barriers to Helpseeking Among New Zealand Prison Inmates

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Skogstad ◽  
Frank P. Deane ◽  
John Spicer
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Prison Inmates

A note on post maturity in purebred commercial rabbits in Egyptian conditions

1994 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. El-Darawany
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
High Mortality ◽  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Anterior Fontanelle ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Pup Mortality

The present study was carried out on the pure Bauscat (Bau), pure New Zealand (NZW) and pure Californian (Cal) strains of rabbit. Overall reproductive performance for overdue does of the three breeds was determined and compared with that of does delivering at the normal time. Overdue does of the Bau and NZW breeds had a significantly (P < 0·05) higher annual mean number of pups weaned than overdue Cal does. There was a high incidence of pup mortality in post-mature litters, and the causes of this high mortality were crushing of the skull followed by subsequent stillborn-birth difficulties and intra-uterine death in all three breeds. Obliteration of the anterior fontanelle of pups from post-mature litters occurred in 71%, 75% and 69 % of the deaths diagnosed at birth in the Bau, NZW and Cal breeds, respectively. Induction of parturition with either PGF2α or oxytocin reduced pup mortality in overdue does. The birth-to-remating interval was significantly (P < 0·01) lower in overdue does in which parturition was induced with PGF2∞ but significantly longer when parturition was induced with oxytocin.

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