Effects of parental separation on the resilience of children who have experienced trauma

2017 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.This study examined the effects of parental separation on the resilience of children who have experienced trauma as well as assessing trauma severity, age, and gender as potential moderators of this relationship. There is considerable literature looking at the adverse effects of parental separation on children, but little has been done specifically related to children exposed to significant trauma. Utilizing data from the Colorado State University Children's Trauma and Resilience Assessment Center (CTRAC), the current study examined the effect of parental separation on resilient functioning, measured through the Resilience and Trauma Severity Scales for Children and Adolescents (RSCA) in a sample of 81 children who had been exposed to trauma. Furthermore, this study tested several moderators (trauma severity, age, and gender) on the association between parental separation and resilience in traumatized children. Results indicated no significant main effect of parental separation on resilience. However, trauma severity emerged as a significant moderator of the relationship between parental separation and children's resilience, and gender emerged as a significant predictor of certain aspects of resilient functioning

Electro-optic resonant phase modulator

An electro-optic resonant cavity is used to achieve phase modulation with lower driving voltages. Laser damage thresholds are inherently higher than with previously used integrated optics due to the utilization of bulk optics. Phase modulation is achieved at higher speeds with lower driving voltages than previously obtained with non-resonant electro-optic phase modulators. The instant scheme uses a data locking dither approach as opposed to the conventional sinusoidal locking schemes. In accordance with a disclosed embodiment, a resonant cavity modulator has been designed to operate at a data rate in excess of 100 megabits per sec. By carefully choosing the cavity finesse and its dimension, it is possible to control the pulse switching time to within 4 nano-sec. and to limit the required switching voltage to within 10 V. This cavity locking scheme can be applied by using only the random data sequence, and without the need of dithering of the cavity. Compared to waveguide modulators, the resonant cavity has a comparable modulating voltage requirement. Because of its bulk geometry, the resonant cavity modulator has the potential of accommodating higher throughput power. Mode matching into the bulk device is easier and typically can be achieved with higher efficiency. An additional control loop is incorporated into the modulator to maintain the cavity on resonance

Mindfulness-Based Intervention For Nurses In AIDS Care In China: A Pilot Study.

Background/purpose:Workplace stress among nurses providing care for people living with human immunodeficiency virus is a serious problem in China that may increase rates of job burnout and affect quality of care. Mindfulness-based intervention has been shown to be effective in relieving stress and burnout in nurses. Therefore, we designed a mixed-method pilot study to evaluate a mindfulness-based intervention for nurses providing care for people living with human immunodeficiency virus. Methods:Twenty nurses caring for people living with human immunodeficiency virus in the First Hospital of Changsha, China participated in a mindfulness-based intervention for 2 hr sessions weekly for 6 weeks. The Perceived Stress Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory were used to collect data before and after the mindfulness-based intervention. Participants were invited to attend an in-depth interview 1 week after the end of the mindfulness-based intervention to give feedback. Results:The quantitative analyses revealed a significant change in Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire scores. There were no significant differences between pre- and post-intervention measures of any other variables. Qualitative results showed nurses experienced a decrease in work and daily life pressures; improvements in communications with patients, colleagues and families, with better regulation of negative emotions, and acceptance of other people and attention. Conclusion:This study supports the acceptability and potential benefits of the mindfulness-based intervention in helping nurses caring for people living with human immunodeficiency virus to manage stress and emotions, and improve their acceptance of others and attention. A larger study with a randomized controlled trial design is warranted to confirm the effectiveness of this mindfulness-based intervention

Challenging the oral-only narrative: Enhancing early signed input for deaf children with hearing parents

Learning a language is, at its core, a process of noticing patterns in the language input surrounding the learner. Although many of these language patterns are complex and difficult for adult speakers/signers to recognize, infants are able to find and learn them from the youngest age, without explicit instruction. However, this impressive feat is dependent on children’s early access to ample and well-formed input that displays the regular patterns of natural language. Such input is far from guaranteed for the great majority of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children, leading to well-documented difficulties and delays in linguistic development. Efforts to remedy this situation have focused disproportionately on amplifying DHH children’s hearing levels, often through cochlear implants, as young as possible to facilitate early access to spoken language. Given the time required for cochlear implantation, its lack of guaranteed success, and the critical importance of exposing infants to quality language input as early as possible, a bimodal bilingual approach can optimize DHH infants’ chances for on-time language development by providing them with both spoken and signed language input from the start. This paper addresses the common claim that signing with DHH children renders the task of learning spoken language more difficult, leading to delays and inferior language development, compared to DHH children in oral-only environments. That viewpoint has most recently been articulated by Geers et al. (2017a), which I will discuss as a representative of the many studies promoting an oral-only approach. Contrary to their claims that signing degrades the language input available to DHH children, recent research has demonstrated that the formidable pattern-finding skills of newborn infants extends to linguistic cues in both the spoken and signed modalities, and that the additional challenge of simultaneously acquiring two languages is offset by important “bilingual advantages.” Of course, securing early access to high quality signed input for DHH children from hearing families requires considerable effort, especially since most hearing parents are still novice signers. This paper closes with some suggestions for how to address this challenge through partnerships between linguistics researchers and early intervention programs to support family-centered bimodal bilingual development for DHH children

Produção de gestos por ouvintes gestuantes iniciados: um olhar atento para a orientação manual

This paper presents phonetic analysis of hand configurations elicited from hearing adults exposed for the first time to signs in American Sign Language. The accuracy of their production is analyzed in terms of various handshape sub-features, including degree of finger splay and opposition of the thumb. Two familiar factors from spoken second language acquisition, markedness and phonological transfer, are proposed as plausible factors affecting subjects’ handshape accuracy. Although these conclusions are preliminary, based only on a limited data sample, they indicate promising directions for further study of hearing adults learning a sign language as a second language. Research attention in this area stands to greatly deaf children and their parents, the vast majority of whom are hearing and need to become proficient in sign language as efficiently as possible.Este artigo apresenta a crítica das configurações manuais elicitadas de adultos ouvintes expostas pela primeira vez à Língua Gestual. O rigor de sua produção pode ser analizado em termos das subestruturas que suportam a orientação manual, incluindo a abertura dos dedos e a oposição do polegar. Dois factores familiares na aquisição de línguas orais, enquanto L2 – a marcaçãoe a transferência fonológica são factores plausíveis de afectação do rigor da orientação manual nos sujeitos. Apesar de estas conclusões serem preliminares e baseadas, apenas, em dados de amostragem, elas indicam difecções prometedoras para a estudo de adultos ouvintes que tentem a língua gestual como sua L2. A investigação nesta área é necessária tendo em conta a maioria de pais ouvintes com filhos surdos cuja necessidade de proficiência em Língua Gestudal é mandatória.&nbsp

The Concept of Equivalent Radon Concentration for Practical Consideration of Indoor Exposure to Thoron

To consider the total exposure to indoor radon and thoron, a concept of equivalent radon concentration for thoron is introduced, defined as the radon concentration that delivers the same annual effective dose as that resulting from the thoron concentration. The total indoor exposure to radon and thoron is then the sum of the radon concentration and the equivalent radon concentration for thoron. The total exposure should be compared to the radon guideline value, and if it exceeds the guideline value, appropriate remedial action is required. With this concept, a separate guideline for indoor thoron exposure is not necessary. For homes already tested for radon with radon detectors, Health Canada’s recommendation of a 3-month radon test performed during the fall/winter heating season not only ensures a conservative estimate of the annual average radon concentration but also covers well any potentially missing contribution from thoron exposure. In addition, because the thoron concentration is much lower than the radon concentration in most homes in Canada, there is no real need to re-test homes for thoron