Immigrant Entrepreneurs Creating Jobs and Strengthening the U.S. Economy in Growing Industries

The focus of this report evolved from a 2010 conference at Babson College on "Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Massachusetts" sponsored by The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) from which two key ideas emerged. One is that there is an "immigrant entrepreneurship ecology" that includes immigrant neighborhood storefront businesses; immigrant high-tech and health science entrepreneurs; immigrant non-tech growth businesses; and immigrant transnational businesses. A second idea was that these growing, non-tech industries (including transportation, food and building services) have not attracted much attention. Interestingly, these sectors can be crucial to the expansion of the green economy. Within this context, The ILC decided to look at these three sectors in Massachusetts as well as in New York and Pennsylvania.Moreover, the report dramatically illustrates how immigrant entrepreneurs look for niches in underserved markets. For example, vans and other alternatives to mass transit serve unmet transportation needs in urban areas. Food intended to be a "taste of home" for compatriots in local restaurants and grocery stores becomes popular and influences the eating habits of other Americans. Workers who enter industries like landscaping or cleaning because they don't require much English gain experience and see opportunities to start their own companies. Businesses like these add value to American life by expanding the economy rather than taking away from native businesses

Are We Having Fun Yet? Savoring, Type A Behavior, and Vacation Enjoyment

Although studies of Type A behavior ceased in the early 1990s because of failures to replicate its connections with heart disease, the Type A behavior pattern of speed, impatience, perfectionism, drivenness, and hostility may nevertheless be important in understanding individual differences in the subjective quality of life. The present study tested the hypothesis that Type A behavior undermines the enjoyment of leisure time and that this detrimental effect is mediated by savoring responses that hamper enjoyment. Confirming hypotheses, analysis of self-report survey data (N = 764) revealed that: (a) higher levels of Type A impatience in social situations predicted significantly less vacation enjoyment; (b) social impatience predicted significantly lower levels of memory building and counting blessings, and higher levels of kill-joy thinking, as savoring responses to vacation experiences, which in turn predicted less enjoyment; and (c) variations in these three savoring responses significantly mediated the link between Type A impatience and enjoyment, and together explained 85% of the total effect of impatience on vacation enjoyment. Furthermore, Type A impatience significantly predicted kill-joy thoughts about how one’s vacation could have been better, but not kill-joy thoughts about other things one should be doing instead of vacationing, suggesting that A-B differences in dampening savoring responses reflect differences in perfectionism rather than time urgency. Finally, temporal awareness moderated the detrimental impact of Type A impatience on enjoyment, by weakening the negative relationship between impatience and enjoyment. Clearly, Type A behavior has implications for understanding the quality, if not the quantity, of people’s lives

Savoring the moment: A link between affectivity and depression

Objective: Positive affectivity (PA; disposition to experience positive moods) and negative affectivity (NA; disposition to experience negative moods) may be risk factors for depression. Low PA may impair positive emotion regulation (savoring), potentially exacerbating depression. Understanding the mechanisms in which temporal domains of savoring influence the relationship between affectivity and depression may help advance depression treatments.Method: 1,618 participants (1,243 females; 70.0% Caucasian, 19.1% Asian, 4.5% African American, 0.9% Pacific Islander, 0.7% American Indian or Alaskan Native, 4.9% Biracial) ages 17 - 40 (M = 18.99, SD = 1.33) completed questionnaires. An exploratory path analysis was run with PA and NA as exogenous variables, savoring domains as mediators, and depression the outcome.Results: PA and NA were associated with depression and all three savoring temporal domains. Momentary savoring distinctly mediated the relationship between both PA and NA and depression.Limitations: The data are self-report and cross-sectional, precluding causal inference. Post-hoc power analysis indicated that the present study was underpowered. The use of a college sample primarily comprised of Caucasian women limits generalizability.Conclusions: Affectivity was associated with the temporal domains of savoring and indirectly associated with depression via momentary savoring. All temporal domains of savoring may bolster PA and mitigate NA. Momentary savoring may reduce depression symptoms in individuals with low PA and high NA

Contraceptive practices, preferences and barriers among abortion clients in North Carolina.

Objectives: Abortion clinics provide an ideal setting for women to receive contraceptive care because the women served may not have other contacts with the health system and are at risk for unintended pregnancies. The objective of this study was to understand practices, preferences, and barriers to use of contraception for women obtaining abortions at clinics in North Carolina. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of abortion clients and facilities at 10 abortion clinics in North Carolina. We collected data on contraceptive availability at each clinic. We collected individual responses on women’s experiences obtaining contraception before the current pregnancy and their intentions for future use of contraception. Results: From October 2015 to February 2016, 376 client surveys were completed at 9 clinics, and 10 clinic surveys were completed. Almost one-third of women (29%) reported that they had wanted to use contraception in the last year but were unable. Approximately three-fourths of respondents (76%) stated that they intend to use contraception after this pregnancy. Approximately one-fifth of women stated that would like to use long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) after this abortion. Only the clinics that accepted insurance for abortion and other services provided LARC at the time of the abortion (40%). Conclusions: This study provides a unique, statewide view into the contraceptive barriers for women seeking abortion in North Carolina. Addressing the relatively high demand for LARC after abortion could help significantly reduce unintended pregnancy and recourse to abortion in North Carolina

The Church Bridge Project Focus Group Results: African American Perspectives of Weight Management Programs to Improve Nutrition and Physical Activity Behaviors

Background: The prevalence of obesity is disproportionately high among African Americans in the Southern US. More information is needed about factors that influence participation in nutrition and physical activity programs to promote healthy weight. Objective: The purpose of this study is to explore the weight management perceptions of young to middle aged adult African Americans. Methods: The Church Bridge Project intervention participants were recruited for two focus groups. Qualitative data were recorded, transcribed and a thematic content analysis was conducted to identify major themes. Results: Barriers included technology learning curve/burden and competing priorities. Facilitators included support, limited cost, convenience, and health. Participants perceived the term “weight management” program as overwhelming and defeating. Conclusion: The Church Bridge Project model confirmed social support and disease prevention as key factors for weight management. Further work should substantiate social support as a key factor to guide minority health efforts

Engaging Families in Supporting their Students

Parents and families are a key factor in college student success. As such, it is critical that institutions develop positive relationships with the families of students, particularly during new student orientation programs. Appreciative Advising has been used as a solid model for advisors and mentors to work with students on nurturing meaningful partnerships, generating co-constructed paths to success, and providing individualized sets of tools and timelines for personal development. Appreciative Advising is an effective, proven framework for enhancing student success which can be applied to working with parents durign new student orientation. The six-phase model can be taught to parents as a way to empower them to assist their student in achieving their educational and personal goals

Adapting and Implementing Appreciative Advising Framework to Train Orientation Leaders

Expanding upon the work of Hendley (2010) who introduced the concept of adapting the six phase Appreciative Advising framework (Bloom, Hutson, & He, 2008) to orientation leader training, this article demonstrates how to construct and implement an effective training program for orientation leaders. It provides practical application of each phase of Appreciative Advising for bother orientation training facilitators and orientation leaders. In doing so, this article demonstrates how the six phases of Appreciative Advising offer a framework that incorporates and emphasizes the development of the informational, conceptual, and relational skill sets desired from orientation leaders. This development begins during training and transcends to leaders' interaction with incoming students. Appreciative approach to training has the power to positively impact the orientation leaders as well as the new students

Acinar Cell Apoptosis in Serpini2-Deficient Mice Models Pancreatic Insufficiency

Pancreatic insufficiency (PI) when left untreated results in a state of malnutrition due to an inability to absorb nutrients. Frequently, PI is diagnosed as part of a larger clinical presentation in cystic fibrosis or Shwachman–Diamond syndrome. In this study, a mouse model for isolated exocrine PI was identified in a mouse line generated by a transgene insertion. The trait is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, and homozygous animals are growth retarded, have abnormal immunity, and have reduced life span. Mice with the disease locus, named pequeño (pq), exhibit progressive apoptosis of pancreatic acinar cells with severe exocrine acinar cell loss by 8 wk of age, while the islets and ductal tissue persist. The mutation in pq/pq mice results from a random transgene insertion. Molecular characterization of the transgene insertion site by fluorescent in situ hybridization and genomic deletion mapping identified an approximately 210-kb deletion on Chromosome 3, deleting two genes. One of these genes, Serpini2, encodes a protein that is a member of the serpin family of protease inhibitors. Reintroduction of only the Serpini2 gene by bacterial artificial chromosome transgenic complementation corrected the acinar cell defect as well as body weight and immune phenotypes, showing that deletion of Serpini2 causes the pequeño phenotype. Dietary supplementation of pancreatic enzymes also corrected body size, body weight, and immunodeficiency, and increased the life span of Serpini2-deficient mice, despite continued acinar cell loss. To our knowledge, this study describes the first characterized genetic animal model for isolated PI. Genetic complementation of the transgene insertion mutant demonstrates that Serpini2 deficiency directly results in the acinar cell apoptosis, malabsorption, and malnutrition observed in pq/pq mice. The rescue of growth retardation, immunodeficiency, and mortality by either Serpini2 bacterial artificial chromosome transgenic expression or by pancreatic enzyme supplementation demonstrates that these phenotypes are secondary to malnutrition in pq/pq mice

Maternal Exposure to Nitrogen Dioxide, Intake of Methyl Nutrients, and Congenital Heart Defects in Offspring

Nutrients that regulate methylation processes may modify susceptibility to the effects of air pollutants. Data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (United States, 1997-2006) were used to estimate associations between maternal exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), dietary intake of methyl nutrients, and the odds of congenital heart defects in offspring. NO2 concentrations, a marker of traffic-related air pollution, averaged across postconception weeks 2-8, were assigned to 6,160 nondiabetic mothers of cases and controls using inverse distance-squared weighting of air monitors within 50 km of maternal residences. Intakes of choline, folate, methionine, and vitamins B6 and B12 were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Hierarchical regression models, which accounted for similarities across defects, were constructed, and relative excess risks due to interaction were calculated. Relative to women with the lowest NO2 exposure and high methionine intake, women with the highest NO2 exposure and lowest methionine intake had the greatest odds of offspring with a perimembranous ventricular septal defect (odds ratio = 3.23, 95% confidence interval: 1.74, 6.01; relative excess risk due to interaction = 2.15, 95% confidence interval: 0.39, 3.92). Considerable departure from additivity was not observed for other defects. These results provide modest evidence of interaction between nutrition and NO2 exposure during pregnancy