Child Maltreatment and Disaster Prevention: Qualitative Study of Community Agency Perspectives

Introduction: Child maltreatment (CM) is a significant public health problem that increases following natural disasters. Ecological approaches have been used to study these complex phenomena, and the current research fits within this perspective by conducting qualitative interviews with disaster response and family-serving community agencies. The purpose of the study was to identify whether or not community agencies identified CM as an issue that is relevant for disaster planning and response and their perspectives on risk and protective factors for CM risk following disaster. Methods: Agencies (n=16) from 2 geographical areas participated - one that recently experienced a natural disaster (Louisiana (LA), n=7) and one that had not (Georgia (GA), n=9). Agency representatives completed semi-structured telephone interviews (n=16) and follow up in person focus groups (n=14). Theory-driven, thematic analyses were completed. Results: Results suggested that community agencies agree that post-disaster environments increase the risk for CM and that CM prevention has a role in disaster response planning. Risk and protective factors were identified according to Bronfenbrenner’ s ecological framework. Conclusion: Study results support the need to include CM prevention efforts within disaster planning and provide guidance for future research to inform such efforts. [West J Emerg Med. 2013;14(4):402–408

Effects of Exposure to Community Violence and Family Violence on School Functioning Problems among Urban Youth: The Potential Mediating Role of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

Adolescents who are exposed to violence during childhood are at an increased risk for developing posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. The literature suggests that violence exposure might also have negative effects on school functioning, and that PTS might serve as a potential mediator in this association. The purpose of the current study was to replicate and extend prior research by examining PTS symptoms as a mediator of the relationship between two types of violence exposure and school functioning problems among ado- lescent youth from an urban setting. Participants included a sample of 121 junior high and high school students (M = 15 years; range = 13–16 years; 60 males, 61 females) within high-crime neighborhoods. Consistent with our hypotheses, community violence and fam- ily violence were associated with PTS symptoms and school functioning problems. Our data suggest that community and family violence were indirectly related to school func- tioning problems through PTS symptoms. Findings from this study demonstrate that PTS symptoms potentially mediate the relationship between violence exposure and school functioning problems across two settings (community and home). Future research should further examine protective factors that can prevent youth violence exposure as well as negative outcomes related to violence

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Predicting behavior assessment system for children–second edition self-report of personality child form results using the behavioral and emotional screening system student form: a replication study with an urban, predominantly latino/a sample

This study assesses the ability of a brief screening form, the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System–Student Form (BESS-SF), to predict scores on the much longer form from which it was derived: the Behavior Assessment System for Children–Second Edition Self-Report of Personality–Child Form (BASC-2-SRP-C). The present study replicates a former study included in the BESS manual with an entirely new sample. Participants included 252 students from a large, urban, Southwestern U.S. city school district in the third through fifth grades. The sample’s ethnic majority was Hispanic (81.7%). Results revealed high specificity and negative predictive values between the screener and omnibus form, suggesting a child who identifies as not “atrisk” on the BESS-SF will likely identify as not “at-risk” on the BASC-2-SRP-C domains. These results effectively replicate the previous findings with a new sample of largely Hispanic (Latino/a) students from a large urban school district

Contextual differences in the interpretation of thermal perception scales – a large-scale international questionnaire study

Within the IEA EBC Annex 69 on Strategy and Practice of Adaptive Thermal Comfort in Low Energy Buildings (http://annex69.org/), we are conducting an international questionnaire study related to thermal comfort scales. Our objective is the analysis of influences on the perception of thermal comfort scales. In particular, we are looking at the effect of the current thermal state, peoples climatic background, and level of adaptation on the relationship between thermal sensation, thermal comfort, and thermal acceptance

Contextual differences in the interpretation of thermal perception scales – the data base from a large-scale international questionnaire study

Within the IEA EBC Annex 69 on Strategy and Practice of Adaptive Thermal Comfort in Low Energy Buildings (http://annex69.org/), we are conducting an international questionnaire study related to thermal comfort scales. Our objective is the analysis of influences on the perception of thermal comfort scales. In particular, we are looking at the effect of the current thermal state, peoples climatic background, and level of adaptation on the relationship between thermal sensation, thermal comfort, and thermal acceptance