An Inquiry into the Language Development of Twins: An Autoethnographic Study

According to research, many twins have some form of a language delay. Despite the considerable research on twin language, the cause of these language delays is unknown. Several of the factors that have been proposed include genetics, prematurity, and low birth weight. I am a twin, and through this research, I reflect on my own language development from both memory and the records my family kept. The data from the records indicate that, unlike many other twins, I did not have a language delay. Despite the lack of a language delay, the data indicates the possibility that the environment and early interactions influence language development

Infant Mortality and Racism in the United States

Significant health disparities exist in the United States with regard to infant mortality, a sensitive indicator of a nation’s health. The US has one of the highest infant mortality rates among OECD countries at nearly 6 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births. The rate for Black Americans (11.11 per 1,000) is more than double the rate for White Americans (5.06 per 1,000). Black American women are at higher risk of experiencing risk factors for infant mortality including preterm birth, low birthweight, and prenatal stress. The experience of racism from childhood through adulthood (personal experiences, vicarious experiences, and institutionalized structural racism) is likely a significant contributor to the disparity in infant mortality. This paper reviews the evidence for this and examines racism as a public heath issue.Faculty Sponsor: Disa Lubker Cornis

Disparities in infant mortality: are sociocultural risk factors shaped by institutionalized racism?

The infant mortality rate (IMR) is an incredibly important indicator of the overall health of a nation. Because the IMR is so closely related with factors such as quality and accessibility of healthcare and socioeconomic conditions, it is helpful in evaluating a nation’s success. The United States (US) has one of the highest infant mortality rates among countries with a similar degree of economic development (those belonging to the OECD). In 2013, the IMR was 5.96 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC (Mathews, MacDorman, & Thoma, 2015). Furthermore, this rate differs greatly across races in the United States, resulting in an undeniable health disparity. The lowest infant mortality rate in the country is that of Cubans (3.02 infant deaths per 1,000 live births), while the rate of White Americans is 5.06 (Mathews et al., 2015). More than three times higher than Cubans and twice as high as White Americans, the IMR for Black Americans is 11.11 infant deaths per 1,000 live births (Mathews et al., 2015). When such a large disparity exists between the various racial groups of one country, questions can be raised about the ways in which the US social structure impact citizens to varying degrees and whether the history of institutionalized racism has shaped that structure. The purpose of this thesis is to identify sociocultural risk factors for disparities in IMR in the US and explore whether institutionalized racism contributes to those risk factors. An extensive body of research has documented the relationship between stress during pregnancy and negative birth outcomes such as preterm birth, a leading cause of infant mortality. In addition, it is clear that US disparities of IMR exist based on race. Literature will be examined to determine whether and how experiences related to racism at each level of the Social Ecological Model contribute to this health disparity. A better understanding of the possible ways institutionalized racism affects infant mortality and our nation’s health will help communities develop health promotion efforts to end this disparity

Infant Mortality and Racism in the United States

Significant health disparities exist in the United States with regard to infant mortality, a sensitive indicator of a nation’s health. The US has one of the highest infant mortality rates among OECD countries at nearly 6 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births. The rate for Black Americans (11.11 per 1,000) is more than double the rate for White Americans (5.06 per 1,000). Black American women are at higher risk of experiencing risk factors for infant mortality including preterm birth, low birthweight, and prenatal stress. The experience of racism from childhood through adulthood (personal experiences, vicarious experiences, and institutionalized structural racism) is likely a significant contributor to the disparity in infant mortality. This paper reviews the evidence for this and examines racism as a public heath issue

Nonlinear Waves in Bose-Einstein Condensates: Physical Relevance and Mathematical Techniques

The aim of the present review is to introduce the reader to some of the physical notions and of the mathematical methods that are relevant to the study of nonlinear waves in Bose-Einstein Condensates (BECs). Upon introducing the general framework, we discuss the prototypical models that are relevant to this setting for different dimensions and different potentials confining the atoms. We analyze some of the model properties and explore their typical wave solutions (plane wave solutions, bright, dark, gap solitons, as well as vortices). We then offer a collection of mathematical methods that can be used to understand the existence, stability and dynamics of nonlinear waves in such BECs, either directly or starting from different types of limits (e.g., the linear or the nonlinear limit, or the discrete limit of the corresponding equation). Finally, we consider some special topics involving more recent developments, and experimental setups in which there is still considerable need for developing mathematical as well as computational tools.Comment: 69 pages, 10 figures, to appear in Nonlinearity, 2008. V2: new references added, fixed typo

Changes in behavioural responses to infrastructure affect local and regional connectivity – a simulation study on pond breeding amphibians

Volume: 5Start Page: 13End Page: 2