Couples\u27 Views of the Effects of Natural Family Planning on Marital Dynamics

Purpose: Natural Family Planning (NFP) requires periodic abstinence and partner cooperation to prevent pregnancy. The aim of this study was to learn about the effects of modern NFP methods on marital relationships. Design: Descriptive survey. Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to 1,400 randomly selected couples known to use NFP and residing in the United States of America; 334 couples (24%) responded. Content analysis was used to identify meanings and themes. Numeric analyses were used to determine frequencies. Findings: Nearly two-thirds of the qualitative comments were positive. Four themes were identified in the positive responses: relationship enhancements, knowledge improvements, spirituality enrichments, and method successes. Three negative themes were identified: strained sexual interactions, worsened relationships, and method problems. Although about onefourth of the comments indicated that NFP presented challenges, the majority (74%) found it beneficial, often resulting in stronger bonds, better communication, and improved knowledge. Conclusions: NFP had more positive than negative effects and its use warrants further consideration

Archival Preservation in the Age of Technology

If there was ever a time when archives and libraries were places of refuge from the flux of the surrounding world, that era has entirely disappeared with the advent of the information age. The jargon of the high-tech world (Machine-Readable Cataloging [MARC), standards, communication protocols, and bits and bytes) has flooded the professional literature as archivists consider automating their processing, reference, and administrative functions. New technologies are being made available which require the archivist to make increasingly complex decisions regarding a vast array of options

4-H Youth Development Professionals’ Perceptions of Youth Development Core Competence

The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess the perceived level of competence among 4-H Youth Development Agents from a Southern state in the United States. The findings will be used to identify gaps in and opportunities for professional training and development experiences in supporting the competence and growth of youth professionals. Based on the 4-H Professional Research, Knowledge, and Competency Model (Stone & Rennekamp, 2004), youth development professionals rated their youth development competence in nine youth development core competency areas. Utilizing a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1=no knowledge to 5=expert, youth development professionals rated their youth development competence ranging from 3.12 to 3.54. According to an interpretive scale, youth development professionals rated their competence as intermediate. Staff felt most competent in the areas of current youth issues, career opportunities for youth, and family structures/relationships. Staff felt least competent in the area of mental development of youth. No one identified themselves as an expert in the areas of psychological development, emotional development, and current youth issues

Spanish speakers' knowledge of English slang on social media

Presently it seems as though the creation and proliferation of slang on social media has crossed borders and become widespread, allowing users of any nationality to be granted access to this array of highly specific vocabulary in languages that differ from their mother tongues. This study will aim to explore a specific case of the expansion of English social media slang into Spanish speakers' vocabularies. In order to do so, a survey was created and distributed that tested Spanish social network users' knowledge of these terms. Furthermore, a thorough analysis was then conducted to establish whether participants had indeed begun to recognise, understand and adopt the slang in question. The findings extracted demonstrated that subjects had varying degrees of knowledge that was proportional and dependant on their usage of different platforms, regards of this type of language as well as, curiously enough, their gender

Implementation of the 2002 Ohio nursing home family satisfaction survey : final report

In 2002, the Scripps Gerontology Center conducted the second annual nursing home family satisfaction survey under a contract to the Ohio Dept. of Aging. Seven hundred thirty-six of the 902 nursing homes on the mailing list had at least one survey returned by a family member. Nearly half (48%) of nursing home resident families responded, for a total return of 16,955 family responses. Refinements to the survey instrument showed continued high reliability of domain areas and the instrument as a whole. Changes in instructions to families, and a number of processes were changed this year that resulted in fewer family and facility calls requesting assistance from the toll-free hotline operated by the Margaret Blenkner Research Institute at Benjamin Rose. Comparisons of 2001 and 2002 responses show some significant improvements statewide, with more items showing statewide averages of 90 and above. Among facilities that participated both years, a number of areas also showed statistically significant improvements. The family satisfaction survey is one important component of the comprehensive nursing home information shown on the Ohio Long-Term Care Consumer Guide (www.ltcohio.org)