Assessing parental risk in parenting plan (child custody) evaluation cases involving internet sexual behavior

One type of claim in parenting assessment (child custody)1 cases is that one parent, typically the father, is alleged to be engaging in improper or compulsive sexual behavior via the Internet. The sexual behavior at issue can range from frequent sexually explicit chats with other adults to compulsive viewing of adult pornography. In more extreme cases, the problematic behavior may involve viewing child pornography, and in some cases the parent faces actual criminal charges in this regard. The present article reviews the current scientific knowledge base for evaluation of risk in such parenting evaluation cases and provides some guidelines and recommendations for an evaluator in the assessment process

Preparation of atomic oxygen resistant polymeric materials

Polyphenyl quinoxalines (PPQs) are an important family of high performance polymers that offer good chemical and thermal stability coupled with excellent mechanical properties. These aromatic heterocyclic polymers are potentially useful as films, coatings, adhesives, and composite materials that demand stability in harsh environments. Our approach was to prepare PPQs with pendent siloxane groups using the appropriate chemistry and then evaluate these polymers before and after exposure to simulated atomic oxygen. Either monomer, the bis(o-diamine)s or the bis(alpha-diketone)s can be synthesized with a hydroxy group to which the siloxane chain will be attached. Several novel materials were prepared

Historical configuration of habitat influences the effects of disturbance on mobile invertebrates

Copyright © 2005 Inter-Research.Mobile animals can be affected by disturbance because of changes to the structure of their habitat. Few studies, however, recognise the potential for the historical configuration of habitat (e.g. density prior to disturbance) to affect the way animals respond to the disturbance. Furthermore, there is a tendency for ecologists to study or manipulate only the most severe disturbances, but such events are less likely to be common. We tested the hypothesis that the density of Ecklonia radiata before disturbance affects the response of assemblages of mobile invertebrates to different severities of disturbance. Differences in the severity of disturbance caused changes in the structure of assemblages, but this response varied depending on the historical configuration of habitat. The magnitude by which assemblage structure differed between undisturbed and disturbed habitats was greater where habitats were historically sparse rather than dense. We emphasise the importance of assessing a range of severities of disturbance and demonstrate the importance of habitat configuration prior to the disturbance, particularly for animals with close association to their habitat.Paris J. Goodsell and Sean D. Connel

It's OK not to be OK: Shared Reflections from two PhD Parents in a Time of Pandemic

Adopting an intersectional feminist lens, we explore our identities as single and co‐parents thrust into the new reality of the UK COVID‐19 lockdown. As two PhD students, we present shared reflections on our intersectional and divergent experiences of parenting and our attempts to protect our work and families during a pandemic. We reflect on the social constructions of ‘masculinities’ and ‘emphasized femininities’ as complicated influence on our roles as parents. Finally, we highlight the importance of time and self‐care as ways of managing our shared realities during this uncertain period. Through sharing reflections, we became closer friends in mutual appreciation and solidarity as we learned about each other’s struggles and vulnerabilities

Positioning the Destination Product-Can Regional Tourist Boards Learn from Private Sector Practice?

This article examines the role of positioning in the marketing of a tourism destination. The study focuses on the current positioning strategies pursued by the Regional Tourist Boards (RTBs) in England. A recent nationwide consumer research study into short holiday destination choice in the UK revealed that consumers were confused by the regional product message. The evidence suggests that current RTB positioning strategies are failing to keep pace with the constantly evolving needs of the consumer. This article explores the reasons for clearly positioning the destination product and suggests that, although RTBs could learn from marketing strategies employed in other sectors of the tourism industry, there are likely to be organisational and cultural barriers inhibiting this learning curve

Microbial communities in dark oligotrophic volcanic ice cave ecosystems of Mt. Erebus, Antarctica.

The Earth's crust hosts a subsurface, dark, and oligotrophic biosphere that is poorly understood in terms of the energy supporting its biomass production and impact on food webs at the Earth's surface. Dark oligotrophic volcanic ecosystems (DOVEs) are good environments for investigations of life in the absence of sunlight as they are poor in organics, rich in chemical reactants and well known for chemical exchange with Earth's surface systems. Ice caves near the summit of Mt. Erebus (Antarctica) offer DOVEs in a polar alpine environment that is starved in organics and with oxygenated hydrothermal circulation in highly reducing host rock. We surveyed the microbial communities using PCR, cloning, sequencing and analysis of the small subunit (16S) ribosomal and Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase (RubisCO) genes in sediment samples from three different caves, two that are completely dark and one that receives snow-filtered sunlight seasonally. The microbial communities in all three caves are composed primarily of Bacteria and fungi; Archaea were not detected. The bacterial communities from these ice caves display low phylogenetic diversity, but with a remarkable diversity of RubisCO genes including new deeply branching Form I clades, implicating the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle as a pathway of CO2 fixation. The microbial communities in one of the dark caves, Warren Cave, which has a remarkably low phylogenetic diversity, were analyzed in more detail to gain a possible perspective on the energetic basis of the microbial ecosystem in the cave. Atmospheric carbon (CO2 and CO), including from volcanic emissions, likely supplies carbon and/or some of the energy requirements of chemoautotrophic microbial communities in Warren Cave and probably other Mt. Erebus ice caves. Our work casts a first glimpse at Mt. Erebus ice caves as natural laboratories for exploring carbon, energy and nutrient sources in the subsurface biosphere and the nutritional limits on life

The INTEGRAL/SPI response and the Crab observations

The Crab region was observed several times by INTEGRAL for calibration purposes. This paper aims at underlining the systematic interactions between (i) observations of this reference source, (ii) in-flight calibration of the instrumental response and (iii) the development and validation of the analysis tools of the SPI spectrometer. It first describes the way the response is produced and how studies of the Crab spectrum lead to improvements and corrections in the initial response. Then, we present the tools which were developed to extract spectra from the SPI observation data and finally a Crab spectrum obtained with one of these methods, to show the agreement with previous experiments. We conclude with the work still ahead to understand residual uncertainties in the response.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Proc. of the 5th INTEGRAL Workshop (Feb. 16-20 2004), to be published by ES

Work restructuring and changing craft identity: the Tale of the Disaffected Weavers (or what happens when the rug is pulled from under your feet)

This article explores the changes in worker identity that can occur during manufacturing restructuring – specifically those linked to the declining status of craft work – through an in-depth case study of Weaveco, a UK carpet manufacturer. An analysis of changes in the labour process is followed by employee reactions centred on the demise of the traditional craft identity of male carpet weavers. The voices of the weavers dramatize the tensions involved in reconstructing their masculine identity, and we consider the implications this has for understanding gendered work relations

'Mine's a Pint of Bitter': Performativity, gender, class and representations of authenticity in real-ale tourism

Leisure choices are expressive of individual agency around the maintenance of taste, boundaries, identity and community. This research paper is part of a wider project designed to assess the social and cultural value of real ale to tourism in the north of England. This paper explores the performativity of real-ale tourism and debates about belonging in northern English real-ale communities. The research combines an ethnographic case study of a real-ale festival with semi-structured interviews with organisers and volunteers, northern English real-ale brewers and real-ale tourists visiting the festival. It is argued that real-ale tourism, despite its origins in the logic of capitalism, becomes a space where people can perform Habermasian, communicative leisure, and despite the contradictions of preferring some capitalist industries over others on the basis of their perceived smaller size and older age, real-ale fans demonstrate agency in their performativity