The development of a questionnaire to assess the attitudes of older people to end-of-life issues (AEOLI)

Objectives: To develop an end-of-life attitudes questionnaire for use in a large community-based sample of older people. Design: Nominal groups and standardization of questions. Participants: Eighteen older people, ten academics and five specialist palliative care health professionals were involved in nominal groups. Thirty older people took part in initial pilot work and a further 50 were involved in reliability testing. Results: A 27-item attitudes of older people to end-of-life issues (AEOLI) questionnaire. Discussion: In modern times, death and dying predominantly occurs among older people and yet we know very little about older people's attitudes to end-of-life care. The AEOLI questionnaire can be used in large scale surveys to elicit attitudes on end-of life issues considered important by older people and health care professionals

Lonely Too Long: Redefining and Reforming Juvenile Solitary Confinement

Solitary confinement is a frequently used penal tool in all fifty states against all types of offenders. However, since its development in the 1800s, solitary confinement has been found to have damaging psychological effects. Juvenile inmates in particular suffer the greatest psychological damage from solitary confinement because their brains are still in a developmental state. This has led many to propose various reforms that would either end or limit the use of solitary confinement for those under the age of eighteen. However, new neurological studies on brain development show that inmates between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five also suffer similar psychological harms and therefore should be included in these reforms. Pulling from these new neurological studies, this Note proposes federal legislation that would limit the use of solitary confinement for inmates under the age of twenty-five

Raising Youth Turnout: The Role of Campaigns and Political Involvement Organizations

This paper will explore a different side of the youth voter and the mystified year of the youth voter by examining the elections of 1992, 2004, and 2008. In investigating this issue, instead of examining the actions of the young voters during these elections, the actions of campaigns and get out the vote organizations are examined. It seems that the disappointment in young voters is not an issue for which young people hold sole responsibility. The other actors in the election, too, must do their part in courting the young voter. They must spend the time, effort, and money necessary to attract this group of voters and address the needs of this group. These entities are rarely to never examined in relation to the youth vote due to difficulties quantifying their role. The conclusions address the campaigns and organizations efforts towards young people as well as issues with the concepts behind the myth of the youth voter

The Effect of a Barefoot Training Program on Running Economy and Performance

Barefoot (BF) running has developed into a recent training technique for elite and sub-elite endurance runners. BF running is a recent type of training that may improve a runner’s Running Economy (RE) and, ultimately performance, by allowing for an enhancement of the foot and lower leg musculature, which, in turn, could improve running biomechanics by allowing the runner to land on the mid- or fore-foot. In spite of the many anecdotal statements that have been raised suggesting the benefits of BF running, there has been limited research evaluating a systematic training program designed to teach this skill and then test the outcome of this training on a runner’s economy and race performance. PURPOSE: To determine if the use of a systematic barefoot running training program would result in an improved running economy and race performance. HYPOTHESIS: That this 10-week BF training program would yield an improvement in running economy as well as 5K race performance. METHODS: To date, 3 adult males who were habitual shoe-wearing runners (SHOD) have completed all testing. Each participant reported to the laboratory four times. On Day 1, informed consent was completed and subject characteristics were determined including height, body mass, and body composition followed by a VO2max test on a treadmill using a Cosmed K4b2 portable telemetric gas analysis system. Four to seven days later (Day 2), subject’s underwent RE tests on a treadmill in three conditions (flat (4 ms -1 ), decline (4.5 ms -1 at -5% grade), and incline (3 ms -1 at 5% grade)) and a 5k time trial performed on an indoor track. All tests were conducted in the SHOD condition. Following testing, subjects were allotted a one week break-in period prior to embarking on the 10-week systematic barefoot training program. This BF training program was a gentle and progressive program designed to minimize injury while learning the BF running skill. After ten weeks of barefoot running, Day 1 and 2 testing were repeated in the BF condition. RESULTS: Following the 10-week BF training program and compared to the SHOD condition, VO2max did not change, while RE improved 4.0% (flat), 3.3% (incline), and 0.1% (decline) in the BF condition. The 5k race time decreased ~1.0% post-training with mile split improvements observed mostly at mile 3. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary findings suggest that a progressive, 10-week barefoot running training program may result in improved RE that, in turn, yields a faster race performanc

Parenthood in Renal Homograft Recipients

Nineteen male recipients of renal homografts were responsible for 23 pregnancies, resulting so far in 19 live births and one abortion; three additional wives have not yet been delivered of infants. Eighteen of the 19 infants were normal; the abnormal infant had a myelomeningocele and other anomalies. Eight female recipients have become pregnant ten times. Two of the pregnancies were terminated with therapeutic abortions, and two more are in progress. The other six resulted in live births. There were only two infants with a completely uncomplicated neonatal period. One premature baby died a few hours after birth from hyaline membrane disease. The other five survived, but one had pulmonary valvular stenosis, two had evidence of transient adrenocortical insufficiency plus lymphopenia, and one child had the respiratory distress syndrome. Renal function of three mothers underwent deterioration during pregnancy, but was restored after its termination. © 1971, American Medical Association. All rights reserved

Minimum Age Difference as a Requisite for Adoption

Recent incidents of abortive uses of adoption statutes have pointed up the possible need for a healthy change in our adoption laws: the inclusion of a required age difference between adopter and adoptee. The author urges that such a statutory requirement is necessary to more fully effectuate the idea that adoption imitates nature, a postulate of adoption law originating in Roman jurisprudence and, so the author contends, underlying adoption law in this country. The article raises interesting questions concerning the very nature of adoption, the function which it serves in our society, and the possible policy differences between minor and adult adoptions

Recent Trends in Academic Library Materials Expenditures

published or submitted for publicatio