Do maternal perceptions of child eating and feeding help to explain the disconnect between reported and observed feeding practices?: A follow-up study

Research demonstrates a mismatch between reported and observed maternal feeding practices. This mismatch may be explained by maternal cognitions, attitudes, and motivations relating to dyadic parent–child feeding interactions. These complex constructs may not be apparent during observations nor evidenced in self-report questionnaire. Therefore, the aim of this study was to use a qualitative approach to gain a more nuanced and contextualized understanding of (a) maternal perceptions of children's food intake control; (b) how parent–child mealtime interactions influence maternal feeding practices; and (c) ways in which mothers may promote healthy child eating and weight outcomes. Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with 23 mothers (M = 38.4 ± 3.7 years of age) of preschool-aged children (M = 3.8 ± 0.6 years of age, 19 were normal weight, 14 were girls), who had previously completed child feeding questionnaire and participated in two home-based mealtime observations, 12 months apart. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and themes extracted to create the database. Four major themes emerged: (a) Maternal confidence in children's ability to regulate food intake is variable; (b) Implementing strategies for nurturing healthy relationships with food beyond the dining table; (c) Fostering positive mealtime interactions is valued above the content of what children eat; and (d) Situation-specific practices and inconsistencies. Findings indicate that maternal feeding practices are shaped by both parent and child influences, and child feeding is mostly guided by controlling the family food environment, rather than by directly pressuring or restricting their child's eating. Results also highlighted the need for research to consider both parent and child influences on child feeding

Communicating Hunger and Satiation in the First Two Years of Life: A Systematic Review

Responsive feeding has been identified as important in preventing overconsumption by infants. However, this is predicated on an assumption that parents recognise and respond to infant feeding cues. Despite this, relatively little is understood about how infants engage parental feeding responses. Therefore the aim of this systematic review was to identify what is known about infant communication of hunger and satiation and what issues impact on the expression and perception of these states. A search of Medline, CINAHL, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Science Direct and Maternal and Infant care produced 27 papers. Eligibility criteria included: peer reviewed qualitative and/or quantitative publications on feeding behaviours, hunger, satiation/satiety cues of typically developing children in the first two years of life. Papers published between 1966 and 2013 were included in the review. The review revealed that feeding cues and behaviours are shaped by numerous issues, such as infants’ physical attributes, individual psychological factors and environmental factors. Meanwhile, infant characteristics, external cues and mothers’ own characteristics affect how feeding cues are perceived. The existing literature provides insights into many aspects of hunger and satiation in infancy; however, there are significant gaps in our knowledge. There is a lack of validated tools for measuring hunger and satiation, a need to understand how different infant characteristics impact on feeding behaviour and a need to extricate the respective contributions of infant and maternal characteristics to perceptions of hunger and satiation. Further research is also recommended to differentiate between feeding driven by liking and that driven by hunger

The eyes have it: Infant gaze as an indicator of hunger and satiation

Infant gaze serves as a measure of attention to food cues in adults and children and may play a role in signalling infant hunger and satiation. Maternal responsiveness to infant satiation cues, including gaze, supports healthy appetite development and may reduce obesity risk. However, mothers often experience difficulty in interpreting feeding cues, and there have been few attempts to study cues systematically. This study aimed to develop a reliable coding scheme for categorising and tracking infant gaze behaviours during complementary feeding (CF). Twenty infants aged between six and eighteen months were filmed during typical meals on two occasions at home. The Infant Gaze at Mealtime (IGM) coding scheme was devised from the analysis of a sample of videos, a piloting and testing process, and the feeding cues and developmental psychology literature. Inter and intra-rater reliability tests of the scheme with 20% of the study videos revealed high levels of reliability. When applied to the full sample of 225 video clips, the IGM coding scheme revealed a significant decrease over time in the frequency of infants gazing at food and a significant increase in exploratory gaze behaviour within a meal. These changes were consistent across main and dessert courses, suggesting they may be indicative of changes in infant feeding state. The results suggest that infant gaze may offer a means of identifying infant hunger and satiation and, as an easily observed behaviour, an effective tool for mothers and professionals for promoting responsive feeding

Charting self-esteem during marital dissolution.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to chart changes in self-esteem before and after marital dissolution to identify the factors that shape individuals' self-esteem during this life transition.MethodWe analyzed 10 annual waves of self-esteem data from 291 divorcees from a nationally representative panel study of the Netherlands (N ~ 13,000). We charted the course of self-esteem before and after marital dissolution and tested a broad set of moderator variables that may shape individuals' self-esteem trajectories.ResultsThe average divorcee experienced significant decrease in self-esteem preceding marital dissolution and remained stable afterward. There were substantial individual differences in self-esteem trajectories, both before and after marital separation. Divorcees who experienced financial hardship, were affiliated with a church or religion, or scored low in Conscientiousness showed the most pronounced decrease in self-esteem during the years approaching marital dissolution.ConclusionThis study highlights the importance of assessing people multiple times before and after marital dissolution to dissect how people approach and respond to this life event. Results are consistent with perspectives that view divorce as an opportunity to abate the strains of an unhappy marriage

From A to Z: Wearable technology explained

Wearable technology (WT) has become a viable means to provide low-cost clinically sensitive data for more informed patient assessment. The benefit of WT seems obvious: small, worn discreetly in any environment, personalised data and possible integration into communication networks, facilitating remote monitoring. Yet, WT remains poorly understood and technology innovation often exceeds pragmatic clinical demand and use. Here, we provide an overview of the common challenges facing WT if it is to transition from novel gadget to an efficient, valid and reliable clinical tool for modern medicine. For simplicity, an A–Z guide is presented, focusing on key terms, aiming to provide a grounded and broad understanding of current WT developments in healthcare

International Educators’ Perspectives on the Purpose of Science Education and the Relationship between School Science and Creativity

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis (Routledge) via the DOI in this record.Background: Creativity across all disciplines is increasingly viewed as a fundamental educational capability. Science can play a potentially important role in the nurturing of creativity. Research also suggests that creative pedagogy, including interdisciplinary teaching with Science and the Arts, can engage students with science. Previous studies into teachers’ attitudes to the relationship between science and creativity have been largely situated within national educational contexts. Purpose: This study, part of the large EU funded CREATIONs project, explores educators’ perspectives on the relationship between Science and Creativity across national contexts drawn from Europe and beyond. Sample and Methods: 270 educators, broadly defined to include primary (age 4-11) and secondary (age 11-18) teachers and trainee teachers, informal educators and teacher educators, responded to a survey designed to explore perceptions of the relationship between science and creativity. Respondents were a convenience sample recruited by project partners and through online media. The elements of the survey reported here included Likert-scale questions, open response questions, and ranking questions in the form of an electronic self-administered questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis was used to develop a combined attitude scale labelled ‘science is creative’, with results compared across nationalities and phases of education. Open question responses were analysed thematically to allow more nuanced interpretation of the descriptive statistical findings. Results: The findings show broad agreement internationally and across phases that science is a creative endeavour, with a small number of educators disagreeing about the 3 relationship between science and creativity in the context of school science. Those who disagreed were usually secondary science teachers, from England, Malta or outside Europe (primarily from the United States). The role of scientific knowledge within creativity in science education was found to be contentious. Conclusions: That educators broadly see science as creative is unsurprising, but initial exploration of educators’ perspectives internationally shows some areas of difference. These were especially apparent for educators working in formal education, particularly relating to the role of knowledge with respect to creativity in science. With current interest in STEAM education, further investigation to understand potential mediating factors of national educational contexts on teachers’ perspectives with respect to the role of disciplinary knowledge(s) in creativity and their interaction in interdisciplinary teaching and learning, is recommended.European Commissio

Exact Monte Carlo time dynamics in many-body lattice quantum systems

On the base of a Feynman-Kac--type formula involving Poisson stochastic processes, recently a Monte Carlo algorithm has been introduced, which describes exactly the real- or imaginary-time evolution of many-body lattice quantum systems. We extend this algorithm to the exact simulation of time-dependent correlation functions. The techniques generally employed in Monte Carlo simulations to control fluctuations, namely reconfigurations and importance sampling, are adapted to the present algorithm and their validity is rigorously proved. We complete the analysis by several examples for the hard-core boson Hubbard model and for the Heisenberg model

A systematic review of practices to promote vegetable acceptance in the first three years of life.

Background: Although most children do not meet vegetable intake recommendations no clear universal guidelines exist on the best method of introducing and promoting vegetables in infants. Objective: To identify strategies to promote vegetable acceptance in children from the start of complementary feeding until 3 years of age. Design: A comprehensive search strategy was performed using the databases Scopus and Pubmed. Articles published before March 2018 measuring vegetable intake and/or liking were included. Results: 46 papers, 25 experimental (intervention) studies, and 21 observational studies were included. Intervention studies revealed that repeated exposure increased acceptance of the target vegetable, whereas exposure to variety was found to be particularly effective in increasing acceptance of a new vegetable. Starting complementary feeding with vegetables increased vegetable acceptance, whereas starting with fruits did not. Visual exposure to an unfamiliar vegetable increased the acceptance of that vegetable even without consuming it, while visual exposure to a familiar vegetable did not. A stepwise introduction of vegetables resulted in better initial acceptance of vegetables than introducing vegetables directly. Observational studies showed that vegetable consumption was associated with frequency of exposure, exposure to variety, and modelling. A majority of studies found a positive association between breastfeeding and vegetable acceptance, but only two out of seven studies found an association between age of vegetable introduction and their acceptance. Conclusions: Based on the papers reviewed, we conclude that introducing vegetables at the beginning of complementary feeding, giving a different type of vegetable every day and ensuring repeated exposure to the same vegetable following an interval of a few days are the most promising strategies to promote vegetable intake in children starting complementary feeding until they are 3 years of age