FAMILY STRUCTURE AND CHILD HEALTH OUTCOMES IN FRAGILE FAMILIES

Dramatic changes in family demography in the United States have led to increasing numbers of children living in “non-traditional” households. A large body of literature documents the association between living in a non-traditional family structure/familial instability and children’s cognitive and behavioral outcomes. In contrast, relatively little research has focused on the relationship between family structure and instability and children’s physical health outcomes, despite the fact that there is good theoretical reason to expect that family structure and instability might be associated with children’s physical health. The current study uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to assess whether family structure and familial instability are associated with a variety of children’s physical health outcomes. The paper pays particular attention to possible mediating mechanisms and utilizes longitudinal data to address potential problems of selection bias and reverse causality. The results suggest that children living with two married biological parents tend to fare better than children living in less traditional family structures across a variety of physical health outcomes, and that at least some portion of these relationships are likely the result of selection bias and/or reverse causality.

Destabilizing knowledge in medieval Arabo-Islamic society : multiplicities and wonder in Isfahani’s Kitab al-Aghani

During the cultural and philosophical shift of 10th-century Arabo-Islamic society, Isfahani (d. 967) compiled his renowned, multi-volume anthology the Book of Songs (Kitab al-Aghani). In the Aghani, Isfahani curates four centuries of poetry and lore (akhbar). Among the chapters of the Aghani are those he devotes to 7th-century tragic love (udhri) poets, including Majnun Layla, Qays Lubna, Dhu ‘l-Rumma Mayya, and Kuthayyir Azza. Within these chapters, the way in which Isfahani curates the source material foregrounds contradictions and ambiguities and toys with expectations of narrative linearity and finality. We find no comprehensive, authoritative narratives around the personalities in Isfahani’s text. Instead, the Aghani disrupts the familiar features of popular stories and thwarts attempts to distill them into truisms. Although scholars have long recognized the Aghani as a masterpiece of Arabic literature, they have generally confined it to the reference shelf as a source of facts. Scholarship on the Aghani has largely focused on its quality as a reliable reference and often views the text’s contradictions and ambiguities as byproducts of Isfahani’s supposed commitment to accuracy. This dissertation explores the literary quality of the Aghani in light of the cultural and philosophical transformation in which it was produced. I offer an approach to classical Arabic literature that embraces the postmodern concerns that are consistent with the cosmopolitanism of 10th-century Arabo-Islamic society. I draw upon Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of the “rhizomatic” book and Bakhtin’s theory of “dialogism” to demonstrate that Isfahani treatment of udhri lore calls attention to patterns and to fields of experience to which universal laws cannot apply. This orientation inspires pursuits of knowledge through wonder and produces a kind of knowledge that demands and cultivates a mind capable of thinking in multiplicities and contextualitiesMiddle Eastern Studie

Law & Order Made Amusing: A Selection of Law Books for Children from the Collection of Morris L. Cohen

Exhibition program from a Spring 1998 exhibit presented in the Daniel R. Coquillette Rare Book Room at the Boston College Law Library. The exhibit featured selections from Morris L. Cohen\u27s collection of law books for children

Prospectus, May 14, 1980

GRADUATES, OR ALMOST GRADUATES, ARE LOOKING TO THE YEARS AHEAD; Intellectual Freedom Essay winner: Maybe they know something in the 2nd grade that we don\u27t; My momma was cumulus; Reporter blows it, Twist blues it; Stars highlight Sullivan; Staerkel bids farewell; Attention; Doomsday schedule; Letters to the Editor; It takes a week, but you can try out your water bed before you buy; Dates to live by; Classifieds; The softball nine win conference; Bench Warmer: LaBadie\u27s enthusiasm rubs off on athletes; Cobras beat Danville, 23-7; Complete Parkland Baseball Statisticshttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1980/1026/thumbnail.jp

The impact of fathers' military deployment on child adjustment. The support needs of primary school children and their families separated during active military service: A pilot study

BACKGROUND: Although direct exposure to war-related trauma negatively impacts children's psychological well-being, little is known about this impact within the context of parental military deployment to a combat zone and 'indirect' experience of the effects of armed conflict. This study investigates the impact of father's military deployment to Afghanistan on child well-being in primary schoolchildren and compares measures of adjustment with a matched group of children with fathers deployed on military training (non-combat) deployment. METHOD: Data were collected within primary schools in 2011-2012 from 52 children aged 8-11 years with fathers deploying to Afghanistan ( n = 26) and fathers deploying on military training ( n = 26) via self-completion of questionnaires assessing symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress and levels of self-esteem. Data were collected in both groups, at pre-, mid- and post-parental deployment. Class teachers and parents (non-deployed) completed a measure of child behaviour and parents completed a measure of parenting stress and general health. RESULTS: Unexpectedly child adjustment difficulties were not significantly raised in children whose parents deployed to Afghanistan. Ratings of behavioural difficulties and depression were low in both groups. However, clinically elevated levels of anxiety and stress symptoms were reported by both groups of children at each stage of deployment. No associations between parental stress, parental mental health and child adjustment were found. CONCLUSION: High levels of children's anxiety and stress reported during fathers' active military service warrant further investigation. Implications for school and health monitoring and CAMHS community liaison work are discussed

Lost in the system : responsibilisation and burden for women with multiple long-term health conditions during pregnancy

We would like to thank our patient and public involvement representatives for their input into the design, conduct and analysis of this work. Thanks also to our participants who took part in the study. This work was funded by the Strategic Priority Fund “Tackling multimorbidity at scale” programme (grant number MR/W014432/1) delivered by the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research in partnership with the Economic and Social Research Council and in collaboration with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.Peer reviewe

Structural Characterization of the Interactions between Palladin and α-Actinin

The interaction between α-actinin and palladin, two actin-crosslinking proteins, is essential for proper bidirectional targeting of these proteins. As a first step toward understanding the role of this complex in organizing cytoskeletal actin, we have characterized binding interactions between the EF hand domain of α-actinin (Act-EF34) and peptides derived from palladin, and generated a NMR-derived structural model for the Act-EF34/palladin peptide complex. The critical binding site residues are similar to an actinin binding motif previously suggested for the complex between Act-EF34 and titin Z-repeats. The structure-based model of the Act-EF34/palladin peptide complex expands our understanding of binding specificity between the scaffold protein α-actinin and various ligands, which appears to require an α-helical motif containing four hydrophobic residues, common to many α–actinin ligands. We also provide evidence that the Family-X mutation in palladin, associated with a highly penetrant form of pancreatic cancer, does not interfere with α-actinin binding

Examining public knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards palliative care: a mixed method sequential study

Background: Palliative care is recognised as a public health issue with the need for earlier integration in the wider healthcare system. However, research indicates that it continues to be accessed late in the course of an illness, public understanding of palliative care is limited, and common misconceptions prevail. Strategies to address this are needed in order to reduce barriers to palliative care delivery and improve access. Methods: An explanatory sequential mixed methods study, comprising a cross-sectional survey and interviews was undertaken. Sociodemographic characteristics, public awareness, knowledge and perceptions of palliative care were examined and strategies to raise awareness and overcome barriers within a public health framework were identified. Survey data were analysed using SPSS v25 with factor analysis and non-parametric statistics and qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: A total of 1201 participants completed the survey (58.3% female, mean age 61 years) and 25 took part in interviews. A fifth of participants (20.1%) had previously heard about palliative care and had an accurate understanding of the term. Being female, higher educated, married, and older, increased respondents’ levels of awareness. The three most commonly held misconceptions included: Palliative care is exclusively for people who are in the last 6 months of life (55.4% answered incorrectly); A goal of palliative care is to address any psychological issues brought up by serious illness (42.2% answered incorrectly); and a goal of palliative care is to improve a person’s ability to participate in daily activities (39.6% answered incorrectly). Talking about palliative and end of life care was advocated but societal taboos restricted this occurring with exposure limited to personal experience. Conclusions: Current knowledge gaps and misconceptions derived from limited ad hoc personal experiences and fear of engaging in taboo conversations may deter people from accessing integrated palliative care services early in a disease trajectory. The results indicate the need for public education programmes that move beyond merely raising awareness but provide key messages within a public health approach, which may change attitudes to palliative care thus ultimately improving end of life outcomes