Changes in Work Hours During the Covid-19 Pandemic by Sex, Marital Status, and Parental Status

In the past several decades, there has been a cultural movement towards women being employed in the labor force rather than working in the home. With the Covid-19 pandemic, as many workers began to work from home, boundaries between home and work became less clear. Using pooled cross-sectional data from the 2019-2020 American Time Use Survey I examine how the work hours of different groups were impacted during the pandemic, with respect to sex, marital status, and parental status. I find that work hours decreased most significantly for partnered mothers who did not work from home. Partnered mothers likely reduced their hours in response to heightened childcare needs, as their spouses continued working their usual hours. My findings indicate that the pandemic contributed to inequalities in employment between men and women. Now, with most schools in America once again holding classes in person, less time is needed for childcare activities. Future policy should be aimed at getting partnered mothers to increase their hours or rejoin the workforce, as they now have more flexibility to do so

Upward and Onward: A Five-Episode Series Screenplay

Upward and Onward is a 54-page screenplay separated into five short episodes intended for the web. This original series is about a young woman, Diane Matthews, and the struggle she and her family face after the death of her father. The story begins with Diane’s mother, Suzanne, finding her husband, Henry dead. Diane and her brother, Dan, return home and begin to cope with the loss. However, each member of the immediate family reacts differently, causing tension and animosity. Diane wants to keep the family together, Dan wants to avoid the issue, and Suzanne is paralyzed with shock. Diane’s wishes to keep the family moving forward, despite their loss, are shattered when she finds out a secret about her father that alters her opinion entirely. Diane searches for solace and answers, but to no avail. Upward and Onward is a short series that tackles themes of loss and grief. The purpose of this series is to illustrate what it is like to lose a loved one and the challenge of a family forced to adjust to an altered life

Computer Security Threats: Small Business Professionals’ Confidence in Their Knowledge of Common Computer Threats

This paper investigates the possible existence of overconfidence by small business professionals in their knowledge of different types of computer security threats. Specifically, this article focuses on the ability of small business owners and managers to understand and identify four main types: viruses, Trojans, spyware, and phishing attacks. Contrary to our expectations, subjects did not exhibit overconfidence in their knowledge of computer security threats. Implications for education and practice are discussed

Computer Security Threats: Student Confidence In Their Knowledge of Common Threats

This paper investigates the possible existence of overconfidence by business students in their knowledge of different types of malware that may be present in current computer information systems. This article focuses on the students’ ability to understand and identify three main types: viruses, Trojans and spyware. The results are consistent with research suggesting that many students believe their computer knowledge is adequate (Weston and Barker, 2002), when the opposite may be true. Further, in an educational settings, students’ overconfidence in their computer knowledge exacerbates the problem of faculty falsely assuming that students have adequate computer knowledge (Messineo and DeOllas, 2005)

Foundations of peace and harmony in families and communities: Insights from a TRUST, LEARN and CARE (TLC) framework

In a world riven by conflict, violent extremism and sectarian animosities, peace is in short supply. Promoting peace is, however, central to the great traditions of faith, including Islam. Contrary to their core precepts, fear, hatred and envy drive an evil mis-construal of the core tenets of these religions; the antithesis of their fundamental commitment to the promotion of tolerance, care and compassion.  Contemporary events defy comprehension and highlight the urgent need to find ways, especially within families and the communities in which they live, to counter radicalisation. Families, after all, ought to be key contexts for promoting dialogue, understanding and peace, consistent with the precepts of the Abrahamic religious traditions, and the Qur’anic focus on families that sees them as the forum for fulfilling the basic Islamic foundations of peace. Strong families build capable, caring and compassionate communities. The present paper briefly outlines a three-element model that might be usefully applied to better understand the processes of development of prosocial attitudes, beliefs and behaviours that are so vital for peaceful, constructive and compassionate co-existence; attributes that are so vitally needed in an increasingly multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-faith world.  The elements are encapsulated in three conceptually linked acronyms: TRUST; LEARN; CARE or TLC. The trust, learn, care (TLC) framework has been developed from key principles in the new discipline of family studies. Global changes present many challenges for families and communities. This article concludes that a peaceful and harmonious future will be built on the foundations for dialogue and understanding that start in families and communities. Trust and tolerance, learning and teaching, caring and compassion are at the heart of acceptance of diversity, growth of understanding and promotion of respect for cultures, religions and beliefs

Outpatient and Home Chemotherapy with Novel Local Control Strategies in Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor

Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor (DSRCT) has a very poor prognosis. This report illustrates novel chemotherapy and local control interventions in a 5-year old patient. The patient was treated in the outpatient setting, achieved remission, with excellent quality of life. The patient presented with massive ascites and >1000 abdominal tumors. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy included vincristine (1.5 mg/m2), ifosfamide (3 g/m2/day × 3), dexrazoxane/doxorubicin (750/75 mg/m2), and etoposide (150 mg/m2). Continuous hyperthermic peritoneal perfusion (CHPP) with cisplatin (100 mg/m2) was given after extensive cytoreductive surgery. This was followed by irinotecan (10 mg/m2/day × 5 × 2 weeks) + temozolomide monthly × 2, then abdominal radiation 30 Gy with simultaneous temozolomide (100 mg/m2/day × 5). A total of 12 cycles of irinotecan and temozolamide were given. Except for initial chemotherapy, subsequent courses were in the outpatient setting. Focal retroperitoneal relapse at 18 months was treated with IMRT with bevacizumab (5 mg/kg) and 2 perihepatic metastases with radio frequency ablation/cryoablation followed by chronic outpatient maintenance chemotherapy (valproic acid, cyclophosphamide, and rapamycin). Almost 2 years from diagnosis, the patient maintained an excellent quality of life. This is a novel approach to the treatment of children with massive abdomino-pelvic DSRCT

Genetic Correlates of Brain Aging on MRI and Cognitive Test Measures: A Genome-Wide Association and Linkage Analysis in the Framingham Study

BACKGROUND: Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cognitive tests can identify heritable endophenotypes associated with an increased risk of developing stroke, dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We conducted a genome-wide association (GWA) and linkage analysis exploring the genetic basis of these endophenotypes in a community-based sample. METHODS: A total of 705 stroke- and dementia-free Framingham participants (age 62 +9 yrs, 50% male) who underwent volumetric brain MRI and cognitive testing (1999–2002) were genotyped. We used linear models adjusting for first degree relationships via generalized estimating equations (GEE) and family based association tests (FBAT) in additive models to relate qualifying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, 70,987 autosomal on Affymetrix 100K Human Gene Chip with minor allele frequency ≥ 0.10, genotypic call rate ≥ 0.80, and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium p-value ≥ 0.001) to multivariable-adjusted residuals of 9 MRI measures including total cerebral brain (TCBV), lobar, ventricular and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volumes, and 6 cognitive factors/tests assessing verbal and visuospatial memory, visual scanning and motor speed, reading, abstract reasoning and naming. We determined multipoint identity-by-descent utilizing 10,592 informative SNPs and 613 short tandem repeats and used variance component analyses to compute LOD scores. RESULTS: The strongest gene-phenotype association in FBAT analyses was between SORL1 (rs1131497; p = 3.2 × 10-6) and abstract reasoning, and in GEE analyses between CDH4 (rs1970546; p = 3.7 × 10-8) and TCBV. SORL1 plays a role in amyloid precursor protein processing and has been associated with the risk of AD. Among the 50 strongest associations (25 each by GEE and FBAT) were other biologically interesting genes. Polymorphisms within 28 of 163 candidate genes for stroke, AD and memory impairment were associated with the endophenotypes studied at p < 0.001. We confirmed our previously reported linkage of WMH on chromosome 4 and describe linkage of reading performance to a marker on chromosome 18 (GATA11A06), previously linked to dyslexia (LOD scores = 2.2 and 5.1). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that genes associated with clinical neurological disease also have detectable effects on subclinical phenotypes. These hypothesis generating data illustrate the use of an unbiased approach to discover novel pathways that may be involved in brain aging, and could be used to replicate observations made in other studies.National Institutes of Health National Center for Research Resources Shared Instrumentation grant (ISI0RR163736-01A1); National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study (N01-HC-25195); National Institute of Aging (5R01-AG08122, 5R01-AG16495); National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (5R01-NS17950