KEY OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN: NEW EVIDENCE FROM GROWING UP IN IRELAND. ESRI Research Bulletin 2010/1/1

The welfare of children is a key concern of Irish society and of government policy. A major new project, Growing Up in Ireland, aims to describe the lives of a large scale representative sample of Irish children, and to analyse the factors associated with positive and negative outcomes in terms of such areas as health and education. Such evidence is of critical importance in guiding policy choices affecting children. The study is a longitudinal one, i.e. it will follow two groups or “cohorts” of children over time: a cohort of 11,000 infants (nine months old) and cohort of 8,500 nine-year olds. A recently published report† based on initial data gathered on the nine-year old group already provides a great deal of interesting evidence on several domains of child outcomes including: • physical health and well-being, • educational achievement and intellectual development, • social, emotional and behavioural well-being

Social Workers\u27 Experience of Implementing Therapeutic Touch: A Hermeneutic Study

Literature exists that reflects the growing use of therapeutic touch within the health care field. This qualitative study was undertaken to expand the knowledge of implementing therapeutic touch into social work practice. This interpretive study presents shared meanings and a common theme uncovered, using hermeneutics research methodology, in the transcribed tests of in-depth interviews with social workers that are utilizing therapeutic touch practices. One theme - healing - was traced throughout the participants\u27 narratives and was verified through excerpts from the texts of their interviews. Discussion of related literature expanded the interpretations presented. Implications for social work practice and policy are discussed

Children\u27s Perspectives on Coping and Support Following Parental Separation

Increasingly, children experience ongoing change in family formation and structure and such fluctuation may threaten or diminish children’s feelings of security with regard to established family roles, relationships and routines. A number of studies have explored available support for children in the context of family transition, focusing in particular upon those organisations providing services to children and families. However, in order to gain more precise insight into the mechanisms through which children can best be supported, it is necessary to consult children themselves and to elicit their perspectives and responses to the changes in their family contexts. A primary aim of the present study, therefore, is to gain an understanding of children’s strategies for coping with parental separation, and the sources of support that they find most helpful in order to adjust to these changes. Sixty children, in two age groups (8-11 representing middle childhood and 14-17 representing adolescence) participated in the study. A qualitative approach was adopted with semi-structured interviews exploring children’s perspectives on the role played by different types of support, both informal (family, friends) and formal (counselling/peer support services, school). Key findings in the present study highlight the importance for children of being selective about whom they seek and accept support from, with the family being the preferred source of support for the majority of children. The study also highlights the need to provide a broad range of services in outside agencies in a non-stigmatising way and at various stages throughout the separation process

FCIC Interview of Sheila Bair, FDIC

Linked is the audiotapes from this interview split between six different part

Growing up in Ireland - The findings of the qualitative study with the 9-year-olds and their parents.

The qualitative studies which are part of Growing Up in Ireland involve interviews with sub-samples of 122 children and their parents. They are designed to complement the quantitative studies of 8,570 nineyear-olds and 11,100 nine-month-olds. This is the first report on the qualitative study with the nine-yearolds. The broad aim of the Growing up in Ireland study is to examine factors which contribute to or undermine the well-being of children in contemporary Ireland. The output from the study is expected to contribute to the formulation of effective policies and design of services which address issues pertinent to the lives of children and their families. The study is closely aligned to the National Children‟s Strategy (2000) which identifies as one of its principal aims that children‟s lives will be better understood, and will benefit from evaluation, research, and information on their needs and rights and on the effectiveness of services

Trauma history predicts depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms better than a psychiatric diagnosis: Comparing wartime, routine time, and early COVID-19 in Israel

Individuals with a psychiatric diagnosis and those with a history of trauma are at high risk for depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) following exposure to new traumatic events. Nevertheless, research is scarce on how having both a psychiatric diagnosis and a trauma history affect reactions to new traumatic events, and how different trauma types may affect individuals with a psychiatric diagnosis. We thus examined whether different stressful contexts (War and COVID-19) affected individuals with and without a psychiatric diagnosis differentially and whether results might be explained by prior trauma exposure. In the same cohort, we assessed depression and PTSS during wartime (2014), routine time (2016), and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020) in a sample with (n = 89) and without (n = 104) a self-reported psychiatric diagnosis. This cohort was recruited during the 2014 Israel-Gaza War using social media, snowballing and outreach to mental health rehabilitation centres. We used a linear mixed modelling approach on data from the entire sample, as well as on the two study groups separately. We found that trauma history predicted PTSS and depression whereas a history of psychiatric diagnosis did not. Regarding trauma types, we found that individuals in the psychiatric diagnosis group relative to themselves had more symptoms during COVID-19 compared to war and routine time, while those without diagnosis had more PTSS and depression symptoms during wartime compared to routine time and COVID-19. In conclusion, a traumatic past may have an important influence on reactions to different types of traumatic events. Distinct traumatic events may affect individuals with or without a psychiatric diagnosis differentially

Chlamydia trachomatis Immune Evasion via Downregulation of MHC Class I Surface Expression Involves Direct and Indirect Mechanisms

Genital C. trachomatis infections typically last for many months in women. This has been attributed to several strategies by which C. trachomatis evades immune detection, including well-described methods by which C. trachomatis decreases the cell surface expression of the antigen presenting molecules major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I, MHC class II, and CD1d in infected genital epithelial cells. We have harnessed new methods that allow for separate evaluation of infected and uninfected cells within a mixed population of chlamydia-infected endocervical epithelial cells to demonstrate that MHC class I downregulation in the presence of C. trachomatis is mediated by direct and indirect (soluble) factors. Such indirect mechanisms may aid in priming surrounding cells for more rapid immune evasion upon pathogen entry and help promote unfettered spread of C. trachomatis genital infections

The importance of scale in the development of ecosystem service indicators?

Understanding the interactions between ecosystems and their underlying environmental constraints, the services which they provide, and the people benefiting from those services, are essential for the effective management and sustainability of socio-ecosystems (ecosystems which support and are impacted upon by humans). Ecosystem service (ES) indicators attempt to provide a means of measuring service provision, but the scale at which they are developed is likely to impact on how they can be used to influence the effective management of socio-ecosystems. This paper compares science and practice in the development of service measures at contrasting scales in: (a) an active research project, focused on local catchment management to improve water quality at Loweswater in the English Lake District, and (b) a science-based study developing national scale indicators of water quality using the Countryside Survey dataset. The paper explores different approaches taken towards the production of ecological measures, which inform on either single or multiple ES delivery across the land/water interface, dependent on scale. It considers how scale impacts on the process of gathering data and on the types of data which can contribute to ES indicators. It further reflects on how service indicators representing different scales of study may be used and by whom. Local scales, in this case the catchment scale, provide a valuable socio-ecological unit for exploring ES delivery, but the extent to which ecosystem service indicators may be used by local actors is uncertain. Larger scale studies may be confined to single services by virtue of data availability but can provide useful policy tools for targeting action. The paper concludes that ‘scale’ is an important consideration when developing ES indicators. It also concludes that questions around the utility of such indicators should consider the relevance of scale and how it relates to governance

Growing a Sustainable Portland Metropolitan Foodshed

Project Description and Objectives: Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) provided funding for this study to examine key agricultural trends, identify producer needs and define strategies to strengthen the local food production system. The goals of the study are to: Define the Portland Metropolitan Foodshed; identify related agricultural and economic trends and develop a needs assessment based on input from producers and other stakeholders; assemble a regional toolkit of strategies to support evolution of a sustainable Portland Metropolitan Foodshed; work with the City of Damascus, Oregon to test the toolkit on a local level; Develop a research and educational program that supports these goals and supports small and medium farmers in the region. This project differs from many other studies of the barriers and opportunities faced by farmers because it focuses specifically on farms that are trying to survive within a growing metropolitan region. While these farms face significant challenges related to urban growth, they also have significant opportunities as urban consumers begin to demand food that is grown locally and sustainability and food related experiences that can supplement farm income