Evaluation and process of family law and divorce mediation in Polk County, Iowa

Fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce prior to the seventh year of marriage (Bee, 1994; National Center for Health Statistics, 1991). As a result many young children live with one parent. The U.S. Census Bureau (1998) estimates this effects 19.8 million children. Children living in single-headed households are more likely to suffer social, emotional, economic, educational, health and psychological problems (Chase-Lansdale, & Heatherington, 1990; Emery, 1988). Parents also experience difficulties adjusting to the end of a relationship. Amato (1993) believes this transition phase of divorce lasts between 2 to 5 years. Family law/divorce mediation was created to lessen the negative effects of divorce (or the end of a relationship) on parents and their children. In Polk County, Iowa, family law judges began mandating mediation as of January 1, 2000. There were 399 family law cases mediated between February 2000 and January 31, 2001. Of this 798 surveys were provided to participants, 217 surveys were returned. Of the survey respondents, 6 ex-couples and their mediator offered their experiences of family law mediation in Polk County. Eighteen in-depth interviews were conducted to gain a better understanding of how mediators, judges/courts, and attorneys could improve services offered to participants. The findings indicated that a large percentage of participants reported that they would recommend mediation to others, felt mediation was fair, that they were satisfied with and benefited from mediation, and that their mediator did not take sides. All mediations involved custody and visitation issues and other family law issues. Some cases (domestic violence) entering mediation needed to be screened more effectively and waived as the outcomes are typically not favorable. Finally, participants brought up issues concerning when attorneys were to be involved in mediation and how well they felt they prepared them for mediation

EVALUATION OF PATELLAR TENDON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND THE PREFERRED LANDING LEG IN ELITE JUMPING ATHELTES

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate patellar tendon (PT) mechanical properties in healthy, elite jumping athletes and the association with their preferred landing leg

Associations between perceived teaching behaviors and affect in upper elementary school students.

We explored the associations between student-perceived teaching behaviors and negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) in upper elementary age students, both before and after controlling for perceived parenting behaviors. The Teaching Behavior Questionnaire (TBQ), the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children (PANAS-C) were completed by 777 third to fifth graders in nine elementary schools. Using two-level hierarchical linear model analyses, we found that (a) perceived instructional teaching behavior was negatively associated with NA and positively associated with PA; (b) perceived organizational behavior was not associated with either; (c) perceived socio-emotional teaching behavior was positively associated with both; (d) perceived negative teaching behavior was positively associated with NA but not associated with PA. When parenting behaviors were controlled for, the associations with NA but not with PA held up. We discuss implications of the findings for education and mental health personnel

Formidable Rivals: Canada, Australia, and the Pursuit of British Agricultural Migrants, 1896-1914

This thesis examines relations between Canadian and Australian colonial and federal governments between 1896 and 1914 when these governments formally pursued British agricultural migrants to satisfy their respective population and land settlement needs. It asks to what extent their concurrent initiatives to attract and secure this group meant that Canadian and Australian government representatives possessed an informed appreciation of each other’s policies and practices. It evaluates the impact of this circulation of idea and charts when and how this information was used by Canadian and Australian officials as they assiduously debated the shape and scope of their own internal operations. This thesis argues that the timing and scale of Canada and Australia’s efforts to secure British agricultural migrants, coupled with their shared position and participation within the British Empire during this period, encouraged interactions and connections between their representatives working in this space. Far from quiet reconnaissance, this highly mobile and connected network of government officials actively and willingly sought and shared information in a spirit of colonial comradery as they attempted to work out the best means for capturing this highly desired group of skilled migrants. Here the bonds of Empire could simultaneously and often paradoxically create moments of cooperation and competition between dominion representatives, reinforcing a relationship based on friendly rivalry. I demonstrate that Canada’s expansive federal campaign to attract British agricultural migrants from the mid-1890s onwards weighed heavily on the minds of Australian state and Commonwealth representatives, and in many ways informed and influenced the shape of their recruitment programmes nearly a decade later. Further to this, I show that Canadian representatives were willing to share their experiences with their Australian contemporaries, in part out of a common sense of Britishness but also because of a perceived lack of threat. It will be contended that by the second decade of the twentieth century when Australian programmes had developed into a highly coordinated and sophisticated campaign, some Canadian officials began to express quiet concern that Australia’s ‘emulation’ of Canadian methods could potentially threaten their own continued success in this space. This thesis is innovative in showing how ideas and information concerning government-led efforts to attract and secure British agricultural migrants for land settlement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries flowed within this network of dominion personnel and also across the British Empire, and the effect of this exchange of knowledge and experiences at a time when Britain’s dominions were beginning to assert greater internal control over this space than previously seen. In doing so, this thesis offers both comparisons and connections between Canada and Australia’s government-led activities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and contributes to the understanding of the dominions’ official encouragement of immigration and land settlement in this period.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 201

Predictive Associations Between Prenatal and Postnatal Risk Factors and Developmental and Temperamental Outcomes Among Infants in Foster Care

Infants detained for maltreatment present with a number of prenatal and perinatal risk factors, including prenatal exposure to substances, prematurity, low birth weight, birth complications, and prolonged hospital stay. These factors pose significant risk for a broad range of infant outcomes critically linked to later functioning, including cognitive, language, motor, socio-emotional, and temperamental development (Del Giudice, 2012; Singer et al., 2008). However, many infants exposed to prenatal risk also develop normatively, highlighting the need to better understand how the postnatal environment influences individual differences in response to prenatal risk. Importantly, prior to adoptive placement, infants placed in foster care often face unique stressors, including multiple foster placements and trial stays with birth families. Exposure to these pre-placement postnatal factors vary substantially across individuals, and they likely have unique and cumulative effects on developmental outcomes (Fisher et al., 2005; Waterman et al., 2013). Emerging evidence from normative samples suggests that prenatal and postnatal factors may interact to influence developmental outcomes, potentially through prenatal programming of infant responses to postnatal environments (Pluess & Belsky, 2011). These theoretical models have yet to be tested among infants in foster care, despite a need to better understand which prenatal and postnatal risk factors influence outcomes for these high-risk children. Thus, the present study aims to disentangle prenatal and postnatal risk factors to examine their unique and interactive associations with differentiated developmental outcomes (cognitive, language, motor, socioemotional) and early temperament among high-risk infants transitioning from foster care to adoption. Participants include 68 infants aged 0-28 months (race-ethnicity: 26% Hispanic, 14% African-American, 11% Caucasian, 1% Asian/Pacific Islander, 26% Mixed, 22% Unknown) referred for developmental assessment within two months of placement in adoptive homes. Prenatal/perinatal risk factors (prematurity, substance exposure, birth weight, birth complications, hospital stay) and postnatal risk factors (birth parent stay, age detained, number of placements, age at adoption) were coded from previous medical, DCFS, and court records. Infants were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-III) to evaluate cognitive, motor (fine and gross), language (receptive and expressive), and socioemotional development. In addition, the primary adoptive parent completed the Infant/Toddler Temperament Questionnaire to measure temperament domains (e.g., sensitivity, reactivity, regularity). Preliminary correlations revealed that cognitive and motor development were most robustly associated with prenatal risk (i.e., prematurity, birth weight) and perinatal risk factors (i.e., birth complications, duration of hospital stay), whereas infant temperament domains were additionally linked to postnatal risk factors (i.e., birth parent placement, age detained, age of adoption, number of placements). Furthermore, differential associations between individual risk factors and outcomes were observed, suggesting there are likely unique risk factors predictive of different infant outcomes. Next, stepwise regressions will be employed to examine the independent, cumulative, and interactive associations between prenatal and postnatal risk factors on each developmental and temperamental outcome. Results will provide insight into the individual and cumulative effects of prenatal and preplacement postnatal risk factors for infants transitioning from foster care to adoption. Implications for key prevention and intervention targets among high-risk infants will be discussed

Intensive Co-parenting Therapy: Piloting a Manualized Treatment for Divorced Families

Although resilience is the normative psychological outcome of divorce, parents and children of divorce are disproportionately represented in the mental health and legal systems. Due to the great financial and psychological costs of incessant divorce litigation, interventions that promote positive child adjustment while alleviating the costs of litigation are in high demand. Social policymakers and clinicians have responded to this demand via a number of intervention strategies; however, the implementation of many current interventions has predated supporting empirical evidence.The present study seeks to establish the efficacy of a child-focused, intensive co-parenting therapy (ICT) intervention for divorced parents. ICT is a 14-week manualized therapy with an emphasis on communication and problem-solving training using cognitive-behavioral techniques. ICT\u27s impact on legal outcomes (i.e., resolution of custody/visitation disputes, payment of child support, court order compliance, etc.), communication, co-parenting and parenting (i.e., cooperation, hostility), family functioning, and child adjustment (i.e., internalizing and externalizing behavior) was assessed.Participants were five families of divorce who had at least one child aged 11 to 17 and were court-ordered to participate in co-parenting therapy. Three of the families were African-American and two were Caucasian. A single-case research design with replication was employed. Therapeutic success was monitored by a multi-informant approach (parent, teacher, and child) according to a multiple baseline procedure. Communication and legal outcomes were monitored on a weekly basis. Co-parenting and parenting behaviors, family functioning, and child adjustment symptoms were measured at baseline, session 8, and termination.ICT significantly impacted all outcome variables measured, although the clinical significance of that impact varied across domains. ICT had the greatest impact on legal and communication outcome variables. For example, 100% of families in the study resolved at least some portion of their custody and/or visitation disputes; 40% of families dropped their legal dispute entirely. Additionally, all families significantly increased the quality and quantity of their communication. Results in the domains of co-parenting and parenting behaviors, family functioning, and child adjustment, while noteworthy and reflective of positive outcomes, were more varied. Clinical implications of study findings are discussed as they relate to establishing ICT as a possibly efficacious co-parenting intervention

Examining Youth Camping Outcomes Across Multiple States: the National 4-H Camping Research Consortium (NCRC)

The impact of residential camp participation is needed for camps focused on a variety of outcomes including education, summer fun, prevention, and youth development. One system, the Cooperative Extension Service, conducts 4-H residential camps in most states nationwide every year. These camps, though offering educational enhancement and fun activities, are focused on youth development, incorporating a framework called the essential elements of positive youth development. The National 4-H Camping Research Consortium (NCRC), a group of Extension specialists and county-level educators, designed and piloted assessment tools for 4-H camps that can be used at any camp that focuses on youth development. The camp context questionnaire measures three essential elements of youth development: relationship with a caring adult, self-determination and mastery, and safe and inclusive environments. The life skill questionnaire measures three life skills: accepting self and others, accomplishing goals, and taking responsibility. Logic models and evaluation guidelines help camp directors plan camps that work for youth

Enhanced skills in global health and health equity: Guidelines for curriculum development

Introduction: Global health addresses health inequities in the care of underserved populations, both domestic and international. Given that health systems with a strong primary care foundation are the most equitable, effective and efficient, family medicine is uniquely positioned to engage in global health. However, there are no nationally recognized standards in Canada for postgraduate family medicine training in global health.Objective: To generate consensus on the essential components of a Global Health/Health Equity Enhanced Skills Program in family medicine.Methods: A panel comprised of 34 experts in global health education and practice completed three rounds of a Delphi small group process.Results: Consensus (defined as ≥ 75% agreement) was achieved on program length (12 months), inclusion of both domestic and international components, importance of mentorship, methods of learner assessment (in-training evaluation report, portfolio), four program objectives (advocacy, sustainability, social justice, and an inclusive view of global health), importance of core content, and six specific core topics (social determinants of health, principles and ethics of health equity/global health, cultural humility and competency, pre and post-departure training, health systems, policy, and advocacy for change, and community engagement).Conclusion: Panellists agreed on a number of program components forming the initial foundation for an evidence-informed, competency-based Global Health/Health Equity Enhanced Skills Program in family medicine