Parenting practices and experiences in families of children with and without autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy or Down syndrome : a mixed-methods inquiry

When a child is growing up with a social, physical, or intellectual disability, due to a developmental disability, parents face additional challenges in the process of raising their child, such as providing the needed care for their child and uncertainties about their child’s development and future. Therefore, current family research among parents raising a child with a developmental disability mainly focuses on how parents feel (i.e., parental stress and well-being) and primarily studies the challenges these parents experience. The current dissertation aims to broaden this perspective by applying three innovative approaches. First, this dissertation attempts to broaden the focus on how parents feel by also examining what parents do in interacting with their child (i.e., specific parenting behavior). Second, this thesis adopts a more balanced perspective by focusing on the variation in both 'challenging' (e.g., need-thwarting parenting behavior, child behavioral and emotional problems, parental stress, experiences of need frustration) and 'positive’ aspects (e.g., need-supportive parenting behavior, child psychosocial strengths, positive family climate, experiences of need satisfaction) in parenting experiences and children’s psychosocial development. Third, this dissertation applies an innovative 'cross-disability' approach, mapping parenting processes and children’s psychosocial development across four groups: parents of children with autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and a reference group of parents raising a child without a disability. This approach offers the possibility to identify important generic parenting processes, but also leaves room to highlight more disability-specific sensitivities, which can further inform parental support and family interventions

Mustelídeos neotropicais : das moléculas à conservação

Ações antrópicas têm causado a degradação ambiental, a perturbação dos ecossistemas e o crescimento de ameaças à biodiversidade planetária. Mamíferos têm sido amplamente afetados não só pela perda de habitats, mas também diretamente pela caça e a disseminação de zoonoses. Os mustelídeos – mamíferos da Ordem Carnívora - possuem particular relevância para a conservação da biodiversidade por ocuparem diferentes níveis tróficos e habitarem em uma variedade de habitats. No entanto, pouco se sabe sobre a ecologia de espécies neotropicais e suas respostas frente a distúrbios antrópicos. Nesta Tese, questões de ecologia química e ecologia de populações de espécies de mustelídeos neotropicais foram investigadas, visando desvendar aspectos biológicos relevantes para conservação das espécies e avaliar metodologias de monitoramento de suas populações. Além disso, iniciativas de popularização da Ciência para subsidiar a conservação do grupo foram desenvolvidas. Em âmbito da ecologia química, a partir de amostras fecais oriundas de animais de cativeiro a diversidade de compostos químicos que frequentemente estão relacionados com a fisiologia, a reprodução e a comunicação dos mustelídeos, foi descrita para Galictis cuja, Galictis vittata, Eira barbara, Lontra longicaudis e Pteronura brasiliensis. Diferenças interespecíficas nos perfis químicos foram detectadas, revelando o potencial da metodologia desenvolvida para discriminação taxonômica. Variações químicas mais sutis parecem ser associadas a mudanças ambientais e contaminação nos perfis químicos de L. longicaudis oriundos de amostras fecais coletadas em cursos d’águas de duas diferentes bacias hidrográficas do sul do Brasil – a Bacia do Rio dos Sinos e do Rio Camisas. Ademais, através de armadilhagem fotográfica em cinco áreas no limite sul da Mata Atlântica, os padrões espaciotemporais das populações de E. barbara e G. cuja foram investigados, entre os anos de 2017 e 2019. Os resultados apontam para uma plasticidade ambiental na ocupação de diferentes paisagens pelas duas espécies. Entretanto, os padrões de atividade de E. barbara encontrados foram mais crepusculares que diurnos em regiões com grande densidade humana revelando um possível ajuste à atividade humana de modo a reduzir encontros. A atividade de G. cuja parece responder à presença de predadores do que a distúrbios antrópicos. A experiência de divulgação cientifica deste projeto alcançou mais de 500 pessoas dentre cientistas e não-cientistas sendo também uma promissora conexão com outros projetos e pesquisadores que investigam os mustelídeos. O conhecimento técnico científico adquirido nesse projeto foi sistematizado e simplificado em um relatório técnico de linguagem acessível. Este relatório está disponível para gestores e tomadores de decisão da área ambiental, servindo como base futura para novas iniciativas de conservação e manejo das espécies de mustelídeos que ocorrem no sul da Mata Atlântica. No futuro, estudos de ecologia química poderão revelar compostos intimamente associados à comunicação dos mustelídeos. Para além disso, outras variáveis biológicas como interações com outras espécies e a fisiologia devem ser considerados para explicar os padrões espaciotemporais dos mustelídeos em ambientes antropizados, no sentido de contribuir, de forma mais abrangente, para a definição de medidas para a conservação do grupo.The anthropogenic impact has been causing environmental degradation, disturbance of ecosystems, and the growth of threats to planetary biodiversity. Mammals have been affected not only by the loss of their habitats but directly by hunting and dissemination of zoonoses. Mustelids - mammals of the Carnivora order - have particular relevance for the conservation of biodiversity since they occupy different trophic levels and inhabit a variety of habitats. However, little is known about the ecology of Neotropical species and their responses to anthropogenic disturbances. Here, the chemical ecology and population ecology of Neotropical mustelids were investigated, to uncover biological aspects relevant to the conservation of species and to evaluate methodologies for monitoring their populations. In addition, the scientific dissemination of project was realized to sensitize people for conservation of the group. In the field of chemical ecology, from fecal samples from captive animals, the diversity of chemical compounds that are often related to physiology, reproduction and communication of mustelids was described for Galictis cuja, Galictis vittata, Eira barbara, Lontra longicaudis e Pteronura brasiliensis. Interspecific differences in chemical profiles were also detected, revealing the potential of the methodology developed for taxonomic discrimination. More subtle chemical variations seem to be associated with environmental changes and contamination in the chemical profiles of L. longicaudis from fecal samples collected from watercourses in two different river basins in southern Brazil – the Rio dos Sinos and Rio Camisas basins. Moreover, through camera-trapping in five areas on the southern edge of the Atlantic Forest, the spatiotemporal patterns of the populations of E. barbara and G. cuja were evaluated, between the years 2017 and 2019. The results point to the environmental plasticity of these species across different landscapes. However, the activity patterns of E. barbara were more crepuscular than diurnal in regions with high human density, revealing a possible adjustment to human activity close to the sampled areas. While the activity of G. cuja seems to be more closely related to the presence of predators or physiology of the species than to anthropic disturbances. The social media pages reached almost five hundred people among scientists and non-scientists, being also a promising connection with other projects and researchers that investigate mustelids. The technicalscientific knowledge obtained in this project was systematized and simplified into a technical report. This report is accessible to managers and decision-makers that work with environmental issues, serving as a future basis for new conservation initiatives and management of mustelid species that occur in the south of the Atlantic Forest. In the future, chemical ecology studies may reveal compounds closely associated with mustelid communication. In addition, other biological variables such as interactions with other species and physiology should be considered to explain the spatiotemporal patterns of mustelids in anthropic environments. This can contribute to more comprehensive actions for the Mustelids conservation

Multifractality and autoregressive processes of dry spell lengths in Europe: an approach to their complexity and predictability

Dry spell lengths, DSL, defined as the number of consecutive days with daily rain amounts below a given threshold, may provide relevant information about drought regimes. Taking advantage of a daily pluviometric database covering a great extension of Europe, a detailed analysis of the multifractality of the dry spell regimes is achieved. At the same time, an autoregressive process is applied with the aim of predicting DSL. A set of parameters, namely Hurst exponent, H, estimated from multifractal spectrum, f(a), critical Hölder exponent, a0, for which f(a) reaches its maximum value, spectral width, W, and spectral asymmetry, B, permits a first clustering of European rain gauges in terms of the complexity of their DSL series. This set of parameters also allows distinguishing between time series describing fine- or smooth-structure of the DSL regime by using the complexity index, CI. Results of previous monofractal analyses also permits establishing comparisons between smooth-structures, relatively low correlation dimensions, notable predictive instability and anti-persistence of DSL for European areas, sometimes submitted to long droughts. Relationships are also found between the CI and the mean absolute deviation, MAD, and the optimum autoregressive order, OAO, of an ARIMA(p,d,0) autoregressive process applied to the DSL series. The detailed analysis of the discrepancies between empiric and predicted DSL underlines the uncertainty over predictability of long DSL, particularly for the Mediterranean region.Postprint (author's final draft

Coffea arabica L. nutritional status survey based on dris, in the Upper Paranaíba region - Minas Gerais

Os solos sob vegetação de Cerrado têm a característica marcante da baixa fertilidade natural, como os solos da região do Alto Paranaíba-MG, cuja característica também está associada ao uso de baixas doses de fertilizantes, o que pode acarretar desequilíbrio nutricional das plantas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o estado nutricional da cafeicultura na região do Alto Paranaíba - MG, utilizando o método DRIS (Sistema Integrado de Diagnose e Recomendação) para interpretação das análises de folhas, aplicação do Potencial de Resposta à Adubação sobre os índices DRIS e análise das correlações e interações entre concentrações dos nutrientes nas folhas e índices DRIS. As amostras foliares foram coletadas na fase fenológica do chumbinho, retirando-se dois pares de folhas de cada planta em 20 plantas ao acaso, em 59 lavouras comerciais na região do Alto Paranaíba - MG. Foram determinados os teores de nutrientes, os quais foram interpretados pelo método DRIS. O DRIS apontou os principais nutrientes limitantes à produtividade na região do Alto Paranaíba - MG: P, Fe, K = Mn e Zn = B. Os nutrientes com maior probabilidade de resposta positiva à adubação em lavouras cafeeiras do Alto Paranaíba foram: P, B, Fe, K e Mn. As correlações positivas entre os índices DRIS foram: N (P, K e S), P (K, Mg e S) e K (Mg e S), e as correlações negativas: N (Ca, B, Fe e Zn), P (Ca, B, Fe, Mn e Zn) e K(Ca, B, Fe, Mn e Zn).A striking characteristic of soils under savanna vegetation is the low natural fertility, as in soils in the Upper Paranaíba region - MG. This characteristic is aggravated by the use of low fertilizer quantities, which may cause nutritional imbalance in plants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status of coffee plants in the Upper Paranaíba region - MG, using the integrated system for diagnose and recommendation (DRIS) to interpret leaf analyses and apply the fertilization response potential to the DRIS index and analyze the correlations and interactions between leaf nutrient concentrations and DRIS index. Coffee leaf samples were collected in the initial fruit growth stage, removing two pairs of leaves from each plant in 20 random plants, in 59 commercial plantations of the region. Nutrient levels were determined and interpreted by the DRIS. DRIS indicated that the yield-limiting nutrients were: P, Fe, K = Mn, and Zn = B. The nutrients to which coffee plants tended to respond positively were: P, B, Fe, K, and Mn. The positives correlations between the DRIS index were: N(P, K and S), P(K, Mg and S) and K(Mg and S), and the negatives correlations: N(Ca, B, Fe, and Zn), P(Ca, B, Fe, Mn, and Zn) and K(Ca, B, Fe, Mn, and Zn)

Uso do SIG para estimar o potencial de distribuição geográfica de pragas quarentenárias em função de variáveis climáticas.

Praga quarentenária é uma praga de importância econômica potencial para uma área com risco de sua introdução, mas não presente? ou presente, mas não amplamente distribuído na área e estando oficialmente controlado. Um Sistema de Informações Geográficas pode ser utilizado como ferramenta na análise de risco de pragas a fim de avaliar o seu potencial de introdução e de dispersão em uma área após o seu estabelecimento. O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar o potencial de distribuição geográfica de duas espécies quarentenárias, a mosca oriental das frutas (Bactrocera dorsalis), e o mal seco (Deuterophoma tracheiphila ), no estado de São Paulo, com base em variáveis climáticas e a utilização da ferramenta de SIG. Como resultado deste estudo, ambas as pragas quarentenárias indicaram potencial de introdução e dispersão no estado de São Paulo

Research Note: ‘If I said I trust you, I would be lying’. Reflections and recommendations for conducting interviews with (violent) extremist prisoners

Over the past decade, the (violent) extremism, terrorism and countering violent extremism (CVE) research field is witnessing an increasing number of studies based on primary data collection. Despite this evolution, however, conducting face-to-face interviews with former or active (violent) extremists and terrorists still appears to be the exception rather than the rule. In addition, most evidence-based research often lacks methodological transparency on the researchers’ experiences, good practices, and the challenges faced during the different research phases (e.g., making contact with the respondents, the process of creating trust, challenges linked to the prison context). Therefore, the aim of this article is to provide academic researchers with insight into the potential challenges they may encounter when contacting and interviewing former or active (violent) extremist prisoners, and how to overcome them. The results are based on field experiences of a PhD research on the process toward (violent) extremism and terrorism in which qualitative in-depth interviews are conducted with (violent) extremist prisoners in Belgium. By providing reflections and recommendations based on this fieldwork, this article can be used as a guideline to improve and increase future primary data collection and the methodological transparency and reliability within terrorism and CVE research

The Effect Of Earnings Per Share Categories On Share Price Behavior: Some South African Evidence

Earnings per share (EPS) is considered as an important accounting indicator of risk, entity performance and corporate success. It is used to forecast potential growth in future share prices, because changes in EPS are often reflected in share price behaviour. Companies listed on the Johannesburg Share Exchange (JSE) are required to publish three different categories of EPS: basic, diluted and headline EPS. It has become apparent that there is no indication as to which category explains share price behaviour best. The study therefore aimed to determine which category of EPS is best associated with share prices of the top 40 JSE listed companies in South Africa. No South African studies have previously attempted to answer this question. The top 40 JSE listed companies were selected as the research sample and the relationship between different categories of EPS and share prices was analysed empirically for the period 2005 to 2013. This study demonstrated that basic EPS correlated best with the changing behaviour of share prices. Furthermore, the study established that headline EPS proved to deliver lower correlation coefficients than other EPS categories. Based on the findings of this study some useful recommendations and areas for further research were also identified