Cultural Connections in Santa Fe, New Mexico

In an effort to see if there is tension among the various cultures in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this paper examines the social relationships among five cultural groups. The author investigates the nature of the interaction among the Anglo, Hispanic, Hispanic immigrant, Native American, and Tibetan cultures by use of a survey which shows locations where participants sped time, who they interact with, and the purpose of the contact. Participants were questioned concerning their perceptions of cultural borders and interaction among the different cultures. The survey and feedback suggest that tension arises from cultural insensitivity and socioeconomic differences

Evaluation of the Arrest Referral Pilot Schemes

Arrest Referral (AR) is one of a range of recent policy initiatives intended to disrupt the link between substance misuse and offending by improving uptake of services among arrestees whose offending is linked to drug or alcohol use. The development of AR was given new impetus in Scotland by the announcement, in 2003, of Scottish Executive funding for a series of pilot projects. The 6 schemes funded were: Edinburgh & Midlothian (EMARS), Tayside, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire & Inverclyde, all extended from existing projects and three new schemes in Lanarkshire; Dumfries & Galloway and Glasgow. All were operated by voluntary sector agencies under contract to the Social Work Department, and were multi-site, except Glasgow. The schemes included a mix of police-based and court-based locations and of police-mediated and direct access to arrestees. The Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen) and the Social Work Research Centre at Stirling University (SWRC) were commissioned to conduct a mixed method, process and outcome evaluation with three largest projects providing case-studies (EMARS, Glasgow and Tayside)

Need for Early Interventions in the Prevention of Pediatric Overweight: A Review and Upcoming Directions

Childhood obesity is currently one of the most prevailing and challenging public health issues among industrialized countries and of international priority. The global prevalence of obesity poses such a serious concern that the World Health Organization (WHO) has described it as a “global epidemic.” Recent literature suggests that the genesis of the problem occurs in the first years of life as feeding patterns, dietary habits, and parental feeding practices are established. Obesity prevention evidence points to specific dietary factors, such as the promotion of breastfeeding and appropriate introduction of nutritious complementary foods, but also calls for attention to parental feeding practices, awareness of appropriate responses to infant hunger and satiety cues, physical activity/inactivity behaviors, infant sleep duration, and family meals. Interventions that begin at birth, targeting multiple factors related to healthy growth, have not been adequately studied. Due to the overwhelming importance and global significance of excess weight within pediatric populations, this narrative review was undertaken to summarize factors associated with overweight and obesity among infants and toddlers, with focus on potentially modifiable risk factors beginning at birth, and to address the need for early intervention prevention

Evaluation of the Arrest Referral Pilot Schemes - Research Findings

Arrest Referral (AR) is one of a range of recent policy initiatives intended to disrupt the link between substance misuse and offending by improving uptake of services among arrestees whose offending may be linked to drug or alcohol use. Although there has been growing interest in AR in recent years, it was given new impetus in Scotland by the announcement in 2003 of Scottish Executive funding for a series of pilot projects. This paper presents the main findings from an evaluation of the schemes carried out by the Scottish Centre for Social Research and Stirling University