Who Speaks for Me?: Addressing Variability in Informed Consent Practices for Minimal Risk Research Involving Foster Youth

Background: Youth in protective custody (i.e., foster care) are at higher risk for poorer physical and mental health outcomes compared with those who are not. These differences may be due in part to the lack of research on the population to create evidence-based recommendations for health care delivery. A potential contributor to this lack of research is difficulties in obtaining informed consent for empirical studies in this population. The objective of this study was to describe the approaches to obtaining informed consent in minimal risk studies of foster youth and provide recommendations for future requirements. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature to characterize the informed consent approaches in published minimal risk research involving youth in foster care. We searched PubMed, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Embase, ERIC, Scopus, and EBMR. Inclusion criteria were: studies conducted in the United States, included current foster youth, minimal risk, peer reviewed, and published in English. Full text was reviewed, and individuals required to consent and assent were extracted. Results: Forty-nine publications from 33 studies were identified. Studies required 0 to 3 individuals to consent. Individuals required to give consent included case workers (16, 48%), foster caregivers (12, 36%), biological parents (7, 21%), judges (5, 15%), and guardian ad litems (2, 6%). Twenty-nine (88%) studies required the youth’s assent. The studies used 14 different combinations of individuals. One (3%) study utilized a waiver of consent. Conclusions: There is no consistent approach for obtaining informed consent for foster youth to participate in minimal risk research. Consent should ideally involve individuals with legal authority and knowledge of the individual youth’s interests and should not be burdensome. Consensus regarding consent requirements may facilitate research involving foster youth

Data analysis for stress measurements by overcoring : new optimization techniques

The knowledge of natural stress state in a rock mass is often an essential datum to solve most modelling problems in geomechanics. Among the quantitative methods of in situ stress measurements at great depth in a borehole, overcoring is usually preferred (fig. 1). Two différent types of measurements are obtained: radial displacements with the "U.S.B.M cell", and strains with the "CSIR triaxial strain cell" or the "CSIRO hollow inclusion gauge" which was developped in Australia (fig. 2)

The ground state of binary systems with a periodic modulation of the linear coupling

We consider a quasi-one-dimensional two-component systm, described by a pair of Nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger/Gross-Pitaevskii Equations (NLSEs/GPEs), which are coupled by the linear mixing, with local strength $\Omega$, and by the nonlinear incoherent interaction. We assume the self-repulsive nonlinearity in both components, and include effects of a harmonic trapping potential. The model may be realized in terms of periodically modulated slab waveguides in nonlinear optics, and in Bose-Einstein condensates too. Depending on the strengths of the linear and nonlinear couplings between the components, the ground states (GSs) in such binary systems may be symmetric or asymmetric. In this work, we introduce a periodic spatial modulation of the linear coupling, making $\Omega$ an odd, or even function of the coordinate. The sign flips of $\Omega (x)$ strongly modify the structure of the GS in the binary system, as the relative sign of its components tends to lock to the local sign of $\Omega$. Using a systematic numerical analysis, and an analytical approximation, we demonstrate that the GS of the trapped system contains one or several kinks (dark solitons) in one component, while the other component does not change its sign. Final results are presented in the form of maps showing the number of kinks in the GS as a function of the system's parameters, with the odd/even modulation function giving rise to the odd/even number of the kinks. The modulation of $\Omega (x)$ also produces a strong effect on the transition between states with nearly equal and strongly unequal amplitudes of the two components.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

The Effect of Gender-Targeted Conditional Cash Transfers on Household Expenditures: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment

This article studies the differential effect of targeting cash transfers to men or women on household expenditure on non-durables. We study a policy intervention in the Republic of North Macedonia that offers cash transfers to poor households, conditional on having their children attending secondary school. The recipient is randomised across municipalities, with payments targeted to either the mother or the father of the child. Targeting transfers to women increases the expenditure share on food by 4 to 5 percentage points. At low levels of food expenditure, there is a shift towards a more nutritious diet

The effect of gender-targeted conditional cash transfers on household expenditures: evidence from a randomized experiment

This paper studies the differential effect of targeting cash transfers to men or women on the structure of household expenditures on non-durables. We study a policy intervention in the Republic of Macedonia, offering cash transfers to poor households, conditional on having their children attending secondary school. The recipient of the transfer is randomized across municipalities, with payments targeted to either the mother or the father of the child. We show that the gender of the recipient has an effect on the structure of expenditure shares. Targeting transfers to women increases the expenditure share on food by about 4 to 5 percentage points. At low levels of food expenditure, we observe a shift towards a more nutritious diet as a result of targeting women

Young-Adult Gay Literature: Coming of Age for LGBTQ Teenagers

My Master\u27s Thesis is an analysis and overview that will explore the evolution of Young Adult (YA) Gay literature from 1969 to the present. It will explore the impact this genre has had on the LGBTQ community, the gradual societal shifts in attitudes towards homosexuals, the reciprocal influence within the scope of Queer Theory, and the importance as a relevant literary genre. YA gay literature has influenced many segments of American mainstream society through heartrending stories dealing with themes about coming out, acceptance, bullying, violence, isolation, guilt, shame, and countless other negative experiences gay people have lived through on a daily basis. Fortunately there has been a gradual shift over the last four decades towards more acceptance and the inclusion of the gay community into mainstream America. Numerous gay rights groups, individual gay advocates, and the genre of YA Gay literature have slowly educated people to be more empathetic and tolerant. YA gay literature has been instrumental in helping LGBTQ teenagers to realize they are not alone in their journey; that they are normal people with the same hopes and dreams as their heterosexual counterparts

Classification of Reductive Monoid Spaces Over an Arbitrary Field

In this semi-expository paper we review the notion of a spherical space. In particular we present some recent results of Wedhorn on the classification of spherical spaces over arbitrary fields. As an application, we introduce and classify reductive monoid spaces over an arbitrary field.Comment: This is the final versio

Preliminary Development of a Multifunctional Hot Structure Heat Shield

Development of a Multifunctional Hot Structure Heat Shield concept has initiated with the goal to provide advanced technology with significant benefits compared to the current state of the art heat shield technology. The concept is unique in integrating the function of the thermal protection system with the primary load carrying structural component. An advanced carbon-carbon material system has been evaluated for the load carrying structure, which will be utilized on the outer surface of the heat shield, and thus will operate as a hot structure exposed to the severe aerodynamic heating associated with planetary entry. Flexible, highly efficient blanket insulation has been sized for use underneath the hot structure to maintain desired internal temperatures. The approach was to develop a preliminary design to demonstrate feasibility of the concept. The preliminary results indicate that the concept has the potential to save both mass and volume with significantly less recession compared to traditional heat shield designs, and thus provide potential to enable new planetary missions