Helicopter Parenting in Higher Education: A Content Analysis of Parental Involvement As Discussed in the Media

Scholars and practitioners have differing views as well as definitions on overparenting at the college level, which has led to confusion in both the scholarly literature and news media coverage of the topic. The topic has become so popular in conversation that national news sources have covered it extensively, potentially influencing the priorities of policy makers and the formation of public opinion. Without a better understanding of the specific behavioral indicators of overparenting, it is unclear whether the phenomenon truly exists, and if so, what are its characteristics? Understanding how various groups in society have defined overparenting is an important part of undertaking policy analysis or action. The purpose of the current study was to analyze how national news sources have depicted overparenting within higher education. Drawing from media studies and the scholarly and higher education literature on parental involvement, the study was guided by one broad research question, “How do the media define the behaviors associated with parental overinvolvement in higher education?” A content analysis was conducted by analyzing news articles published from 2015 to 2020. Results suggested that controlling students, both psychologically and behaviorally, was the most common behavior exhibited by parents. The second most frequently identified behavior was that of parents communicating frequently with their children followed by parents communicating with higher education professionals regarding their children. A low percentage of news articles referred to providing emotional and financial support as overparenting behaviors. Moreover, when discussing parental overinvolvement in news articles, most of the stories are anecdotal and subjective as they are shared by parents, faculty, staff, and employees, and then retold through the context of the article. Because numerous labels are used to discuss overparenting, it is difficult to arrive at a comprehensive definition of overparenting. The current study contributes to the body of knowledge and extends the research by establishing a definition of overparenting as a foundation for further research and practical use both within and outside of education. Overall, overparenting at the college level seems to be defined as extremely involved parents engaging in codependent behaviors such as: solving problems for; making decisions for; frequently intervening on behalf of; trying to prevent harm and failure; and having constant communication, which dampen their children’s ability to figure things out on their own, learn self-reliance, and transition smoothly from adolescence to adulthood. This study may help higher education institutions to better understand overparenting, its importance for both faculty and students, and how to leverage overparenting in today’s parent-child-institution relationship. Implications of the key findings for policy making and future research are also discussed

Wrap Up & Where to From Here

Symposium Track Chairs will provide high level summaries of the information covered in each of the tracks: Feedstock & Production; Benefits & Uses; Policy & Community and Sales, Scale & Marketing. To conclude the symposium and leverage all of the great new ideas and information in everyone\u27s minds, we will capture key take aways as a community and then invite suggestions and discussion about next steps in the biochar movement

Patient vital signs in relation to ICU admission in treatment of acute leukemia: a retrospective chart review

Objectives: The objective of the current study was to investigate the relationship between changes in vital signs and intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Windsor Regional Hospital treats 15–20 new patients a year with acute leukemia. These patients are at increased risk of neutropenic fevers and admission to the ICU following induction chemotherapy. Methods: Retrospective review examined the correlation between acute leukemia patient vitals and ICU admission. The analysis included 37 patients: 7 ICU versus 30 controls. Changes were compared to baseline over 24 hours prior to ICU admission or 5 days after the initiation of induction chemotherapy in the following vital signs: heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), temperature (T), respiratory rate (RR), and fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) required to maintain a stable oxygen saturation. Results: RR and FiO2 demonstrated significant change over baseline leading up to ICU admission within the ICU group. T, HR and MAP did not demonstrate significant changes over time in either group. RR, FiO2 and HR were significantly higher in the ICU group at time zero compared with the control group. RR was recorded least frequently in the 24 hours leading up to ICU admission. Discussion: Changes in RR and FiO2 predicted clinical deterioration requiring ICU admission in acute leukemia patients. This is consistent with the predominant reason for ICU admission which was respiratory failure. Conclusion: We present preliminary evidence to support enhanced monitoring of RR and FiO2 in acute leukemia patients following induction chemotherapy with early intervention if identified

Hendra Virus and Horse Owners – Risk Perception and Management

Hendra virus is a highly pathogenic novel paramyxovirus causing sporadic fatal infection in horses and humans in Australia. Species of fruit-bats (genus Pteropus), commonly known as flying-foxes, are the natural host of the virus. We undertook a survey of horse owners in the states of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia to assess the level of adoption of recommended risk management strategies and to identify impediments to adoption. Survey questionnaires were completed by 1431 respondents from the target states, and from a spectrum of industry sectors. Hendra virus knowledge varied with sector, but was generally limited, with only 13% of respondents rating their level of knowledge as high or very high. The majority of respondents (63%) had seen their state’s Hendra virus information for horse owners, and a similar proportion found the information useful. Fifty-six percent of respondents thought it moderately, very or extremely likely that a Hendra virus case could occur in their area, yet only 37% said they would consider Hendra virus if their horse was sick. Only 13% of respondents stabled their horses overnight, although another 24% said it would be easy or very easy to do so, but hadn’t done so. Only 13% and 15% of respondents respectively had horse feed bins and water points under solid cover. Responses varied significantly with state, likely reflecting different Hendra virus history. The survey identified inconsistent awareness and/or adoption of available knowledge, confusion in relation to Hendra virus risk perception, with both over-and under-estimation of true risk, and lag in the uptake of recommended risk minimisation strategies, even when these were readily implementable. However, we also identified frustration and potential alienation by horse owners who found the recommended strategies impractical, onerous and prohibitively expensive. The insights gained from this survey have broader application to other complex risk-management scenarios

What effect have NHS commissioners’ policies for body mass index had on access to knee replacement surgery in England?:An interrupted time series analysis from the National Joint Registry

ObjectiveTo assess the impact of local commissioners' policies for body mass index on access to knee replacement surgery in England.MethodsA Natural Experimental Study using interrupted time series and difference-in-differences analysis. We used National Joint Registry for England data linked to the 2015 Index of Multiple Deprivation for 481,555 patients who had primary knee replacement surgery in England between January 2009 and December 2019. Clinical Commissioning Group policies introduced before June 2018 to alter access to knee replacement for patients who were overweight or obese were considered the intervention. The main outcome measures were rate per 100,000 of primary knee replacement surgery and patient demographics (body mass index, Index of Multiple Deprivation, independently-funded surgery) over time.ResultsRates of surgery had a sustained fall after the introduction of a policy (trend change of -0.98 operations per 100,000 population aged 40+, 95% confidence interval -1.22 to -0.74, PConclusionsBody mass index policy introduction was associated with decreases in the rates of knee replacement surgery across localities that introduced policies. This affected all patient groups, not just obese patients at whom the policies were targeted. Changes in patient demographics seen after policy introduction suggest these policies may increase health inequalities and further qualitative research is needed to understand their implementation and impact

User experience analysis of AbC-19 Rapid Test via lateral flow immunoassays for self-administrated SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing

Abstract Lateral flow immunoassays are low cost, rapid and highly efficacious point-of-care devices, which have been used for SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing by professionals. However, there is a lack of understanding about how self-administered tests are used by the general public for mass testing in different environmental settings. The purpose of this study was to assess the user experience (UX) (including usability) of a self-testing kit to identify COVID-19 antibodies used by a representative sample of the public in their cars, which included 1544 participants in Northern Ireland. The results based on 5-point Likert ratings from a post-test questionnaire achieved an average UX score of 96.03% [95% confidence interval (CI) 95.05–97.01%], suggesting a good degree of user experience. The results of the Wilcoxon rank sum tests suggest that UX scores were independent of the user’s age and education level although the confidence in this conclusion could be strengthened by including more participants aged younger than 18 and those with only primary or secondary education. The agreement between the test result as interpreted by the participant and the researcher was 95.85% [95% CI 94.85–96.85%], Kappa score 0.75 [95% CI 0.69–0.81] (indicating substantial agreement). Text analysis via the latent Dirichlet allocation model for the free text responses in the survey suggest that the user experience could be improved for blood-sample collection, by modifying the method of sample transfer to the test device and giving clearer instructions on how to interpret the test results. The overall findings provide an insight into the opportunities for improving the design of SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing kits to be used by the general public and therefore inform protocols for future user experience studies of point-of-care tests

Exploring the involvement of NLRP3 and Il-1β in Osteoarthritis of the Hand: Results from a Pilot Study

Hand osteoarthritis (HOA) includes different subsets; a particular and uncommon form is erosive HOA (EHOA). Interleukin- (IL-) 1 plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA); it is synthesized as an inactive precursor which requires the intervention of a cytosolic multiprotein complex, named inflammasome, for its activation. The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of IL-1 and the NOD-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in patients with EHOA and nonerosive HOA (NEHOA) compared to healthy controls. In particular, we evaluated the gene expression of IL-1 and NLRP3, the serum levels of IL-1, IL-6, IL-17, and tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) , and the protein levels of IL-1 and NLRP3. We also assessed the relationships between IL-1 and NLRP3 and clinical, laboratory, and radiological findings. Fifty-four patients with HOA (25 EHOA and 29 NEHOA) and 20 healthy subjects were included in the study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) gene and protein expressions of IL-1 and NLRP3 were quantified by quantitative real-time PCR and western blot. IL-1, IL-6, IL-17, and TNF- serum levels were determined by ELISA. IL-1 gene expression was significantly reduced (p=0.0208) in EHOA compared to healthy controls. NLRP3 protein levels were significantly increased in the NEHOA group versus the control (p=0.0063) and EHOA groups (p=0.0038). IL-1 serum levels were not significantly different across the groups; IL-6, IL-17, and TNF- were not detectable in any sample. IL-1 concentrations were negatively correlated with the Kellgren-Lawrence score in the whole population (r=-0.446; p=0.0008) and in NEHOA (r=-0.608; p=0.004), while IL-1 gene expression was positively correlated with the number of joint swellings in the EHOA group (r=0.512; p=0.011). Taken together, our results, showing poorly detectable IL-1 concentrations and minimal inflammasome activity in the PBMCs of HOA patients, suggest a low grade of systemic inflammation in HOA. This evidence does not preclude a possible involvement of these factors at the local level