Obesity Prevention and Health Promotion: How Family Life Educators View Their Role

Parenting and family life educators should be part of the multi-disciplinary solution to childhood overweight. Their ability to work in a preventative capacity to facilitate healthy family practices around eating and activity can help alter one of the key social contexts in which children develop. This article shares the results from a survey of parenting and family life educators that explored their current efforts and understanding regarding childhood overweight, willingness to increase future involvement with the issue, barriers to addressing the issue, and need for Extension support

Metagenetic analysis of patterns of distribution and diversity of marine meiobenthic eukaryotes

AimMeiofaunal communities that inhabit the marine benthos offer unique opportunities to simultaneously study the macroecology of numerous phyla that exhibit different life-history strategies. Here, we ask: (1) if the macroecology of meiobenthic communities is explained mainly by dispersal constraints or by environmental conditions; and (2) if levels of meiofaunal diversity surpass existing estimates based on morphological taxonomy. LocationUK and mainland European coast. MethodsNext-generation sequencing techniques (NGS; Roche 454 FLX platform) using 18S nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA (rDNA) gene. Pyrosequences were analysed using AmpliconNoise followed by chimera removal using Perseus. ResultsRarefaction curves revealed that sampling saturation was only reached at 15% of sites, highlighting that the bulk of meiofaunal diversity is yet to be discovered. Overall, 1353 OTUs were recovered and assigned to 23 different phyla. The majority of sampled sites had c. 60-70 unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) per site, indicating high levels of beta diversity. The environmental parameters that best explained community structure were seawater temperature, geographical distance and sediment size, but most of the variability (R-2=70%-80%) remains unexplained. Main conclusionsHigh percentages of endemic OTUs suggest that meiobenthic community composition is partly niche-driven, as observed in larger organisms, but also shares macroecological features of microorganisms by showing high levels of cosmopolitanism (albeit on a much smaller scale). Meiobenthic communities exhibited patterns of isolation by distance as well as associations between niche, latitude and temperature, indicating that meiobenthic communities result from a combination of niche assembly and dispersal processes. Conversely, isolation-by-distance patterns were not identified in the featured protists, suggesting that animals and protists adhere to radically different macroecological processes, linked to life-history strategies.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) [NE/E001505/1, NE/F001266/1, MGF-167]; Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [SFRH/BD/27413/2006, SFRH/BPD/80447/2014]; EPSRC [EP/H003851/1]; BBSRC CASE studentship; Unilever; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [987347]; Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EP/H003851/1]; Natural Environment Research Council [NE/F001290/1, NE/F001266/1, NE/E001505/1, NBAF010002]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An empirical investigation of the dividend decision in Irish companies

This thesis investigates corporate Ireland's attitude to dividend payments and examines how the Irish stock market reacts to company announcements about dividends. Prior to this study, the attitude of company executives and investors to dividend policy in Ireland was not reported in the academic literature in a systematic fashion. A number of small studies on the topic had been undertaken but the findings of those studies are relatively old and the perspective adopted limited.In the mid-1980s, company managers in the US and the UK aggressively altered dividend policy because the disadvantageous income tax rates to which dividends were subject meant that paying dividends was not an efficient way to return money to shareholders(Campbell, 2003). The double taxation of cash dividends was the primary motivation behind the decision of corporations to repurchase their own shares rather than implementing or increasing dividend payouts (Wood, 2002). In addition, for much of the 1990s dividends seemed unimportant to company executives and investors, as much of the share valuation analysis undertaken by financial commentators, appeared to focus on top line and bottom line growth rather than expectations about periodic dividend distributions (Goodbody, 2003).However, dividends have recently become more important as growth rates in earnings have declined (Jones, 2004).The Irish economy has changed dramatically over the last decade with greater wealth,increased numbers at work and an ageing population (E. S. R. I., 2003). In this new environment, Irish dividend distributions, and more specifically the taxation treatment of those distributions, is an increasingly important issue for Irish economic policy makers as they seek to encourage companies to re-invest their profits for the long-term and to provide incentives to individuals to increase savings and provide for retirement. In this new environment, Irish dividend distributions, and more specifically the taxation treatment of those distributions, is an increasingly important issue for Irish economic policy makers as they seek to encourage companies to re-invest their profits for the long-term and to provide incentives to individuals to increase savings and provide for retirement.The current research finds that dividend policy matters to Irish investors.Specifically,Irish investors appear to react to a dividend announcement as if that announcement conveys important news about the future prospects for the firm. This reaction was very pronounced on the dividend announcement date. Irish firms support the suggestion that dividend policy affects share valuations. In particular, quoted firms believe they know the nature of their shareholder base, and perceive that Irish investors discriminate, according to their tax status, between those companies which pay dividends and those which do not, when selecting securities for their portfolios. In addition, Irish quoted companies follow a policy in which dividend reductions are anathema and an increased dividend will only be declared if management are convinced that the new dividend level can be maintained.Finally, for unquoted firms, dividend policy is strongly driven by the taxation status of their owner shareholders. Tax advisors play a key role in determining dividend policy for such companies and a case can be made for re-examining the inflexibility of Irish tax rules on dividends, particularly for those relating to small and medium-sized companies. The findings represent a contribution to understanding as to why Irish firms pay dividends. In particular, the findings relate to a recent period for Ireland where little evidence exists. In addition, the findings emerge from a comprehensive investigation of the topic using a large-scale sample questionnaire, an event study and a sizable number of interviews. The focus of the investigation is also novel in that the views of unquoted company executives are sought in addition to the perspectives of managers from listed companies. What emerges is a comprehensive investigation of the dividend decisions of Irish companies.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

An empirical investigation of the dividend decision in Irish companies

This thesis investigates corporate Ireland's attitude to dividend payments and examines how the Irish stock market reacts to company announcements about dividends. Prior to this study, the attitude of company executives and investors to dividend policy in Ireland was not reported in the academic literature in a systematic fashion. A number of small studies on the topic had been undertaken but the findings of those studies are relatively old and the perspective adopted limited.In the mid-1980s, company managers in the US and the UK aggressively altered dividend policy because the disadvantageous income tax rates to which dividends were subject meant that paying dividends was not an efficient way to return money to shareholders(Campbell, 2003). The double taxation of cash dividends was the primary motivation behind the decision of corporations to repurchase their own shares rather than implementing or increasing dividend payouts (Wood, 2002). In addition, for much of the 1990s dividends seemed unimportant to company executives and investors, as much of the share valuation analysis undertaken by financial commentators, appeared to focus on top line and bottom line growth rather than expectations about periodic dividend distributions (Goodbody, 2003).However, dividends have recently become more important as growth rates in earnings have declined (Jones, 2004).The Irish economy has changed dramatically over the last decade with greater wealth,increased numbers at work and an ageing population (E. S. R. I., 2003). In this new environment, Irish dividend distributions, and more specifically the taxation treatment of those distributions, is an increasingly important issue for Irish economic policy makers as they seek to encourage companies to re-invest their profits for the long-term and to provide incentives to individuals to increase savings and provide for retirement. In this new environment, Irish dividend distributions, and more specifically the taxation treatment of those distributions, is an increasingly important issue for Irish economic policy makers as they seek to encourage companies to re-invest their profits for the long-term and to provide incentives to individuals to increase savings and provide for retirement.The current research finds that dividend policy matters to Irish investors.Specifically,Irish investors appear to react to a dividend announcement as if that announcement conveys important news about the future prospects for the firm. This reaction was very pronounced on the dividend announcement date. Irish firms support the suggestion that dividend policy affects share valuations. In particular, quoted firms believe they know the nature of their shareholder base, and perceive that Irish investors discriminate, according to their tax status, between those companies which pay dividends and those which do not, when selecting securities for their portfolios. In addition, Irish quoted companies follow a policy in which dividend reductions are anathema and an increased dividend will only be declared if management are convinced that the new dividend level can be maintained.Finally, for unquoted firms, dividend policy is strongly driven by the taxation status of their owner shareholders. Tax advisors play a key role in determining dividend policy for such companies and a case can be made for re-examining the inflexibility of Irish tax rules on dividends, particularly for those relating to small and medium-sized companies. The findings represent a contribution to understanding as to why Irish firms pay dividends. In particular, the findings relate to a recent period for Ireland where little evidence exists. In addition, the findings emerge from a comprehensive investigation of the topic using a large-scale sample questionnaire, an event study and a sizable number of interviews. The focus of the investigation is also novel in that the views of unquoted company executives are sought in addition to the perspectives of managers from listed companies. What emerges is a comprehensive investigation of the dividend decisions of Irish companies.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Youth Perspectives on the Effects of a Family-centered Media Literacy Intervention to Encourage Healthier Eating

A pretest-posttest field test with control group (N = 189 parent-child dyads) tested a structural model representing youths' (ages 9-14) perspectives to examine the efficacy of a family-centered, media literacy-oriented intervention promoting fruit and vegetable consumption. The intervention facilitated critical discussion about nutrition and media, mentored by the parent. Results showed that youths' increases in fruit and vegetable consumption flowed from parent-child discussion of nutrition labels, which was predicted by child-initiated discussion, critical thinking about media sources, and critical thinking about media content. Multivariate analyses revealed that the intervention was productive for all participating age groups and for all dependent variables. The results suggest that a developmental progression from critical thinking about source to critical thinking about content affects behavior change and can be catalyzed through media literacy education and encouragement to discuss media messages (i.e. practice) with parents

Demographic predictors of experiences of homelessness among lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, gender-diverse and queer-identifying (LGBTIQ) young people in Australia

Homelessness among young lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, gender-diverse and queer-identifying (LGBTQ+) persons is highly prevalent and constitutes a structural risk to health and future life chances. However, the distribution of homelessness burden is among different LGBTQ+ subgroups is poorly understood. An Australia-wide cross-sectional online survey was conducted involving 6,481 LGBTQ+ participants aged 14–21 years during 2019. Single-predictor logistic regression analyses identified factors associated with both lifetime and recent experiences of homelessness. Analyses also explored associations between recent (<12 months) experiences of homelessness, experiences of harassment, alcohol consumption, and psychological distress. Higher odds of experiencing homelessness were observed for trans and gender-diverse young people, individuals who identified with sexual identity labels other than lesbian, gay or bisexual, racially-minoritized persons, disabled persons and individuals from a religious family or household, compared to their respective counterparts. Experiencing homelessness was associated with higher levels of alcohol consumption and higher prevalence of experiencing verbal, physical and sexual harassment, but only modestly associated with higher levels of psychological distress. Homelessness risk and burden is unevenly distributed among LGBTQ+ youth and is linked to outcomes which may potentiate future homelessness. Interventions addressing homelessness among this group must be optimized for those subgroups most vulnerable to experiencing homelessness

Parental Influences on Children's Self-Regulation of Energy Intake: Insights from Developmental Literature on Emotion Regulation

The following article examines the role of parents in the development of children's self-regulation of energy intake. Various paths of parental influence are offered based on the literature on parental influences on children's emotion self-regulation. The parental paths include modeling, responses to children's behavior, assistance in helping children self-regulate, and motivating children through rewards and punishments. Additionally, sources of variation in parental influences on regulation are examined, including parenting style, child temperament, and child-parent attachment security. Parallels in the nature of parents' role in socializing children's regulation of emotions and energy intake are examined. Implications for future research are discussed

Emotional Climate, Feeding Practices, and Feeding Styles: An Observational Analysis of the Dinner Meal in Head Start Families

BACKGROUND: A number of studies conducted with ethnically diverse, low-income samples have found that parents with indulgent feeding styles had children with a higher weight status. Indulgent parents are those who are responsive to their child\u27s emotional states but have problems setting appropriate boundaries with their child. Because the processes through which styles impact child weight are poorly understood, the aim of this study was to observe differences in the emotional climate created by parents (including affect, tone of voice, and gestures) and behavioral feeding practices among those reporting different feeding styles on the Caregiver\u27s Feeding Styles Questionnaire. A secondary aim was to examine differences on child weight status across the feeding styles. METHODS: Participants were 177 Head Start families from Houston, Texas (45% African-American; 55% Hispanic). Using an observational approach, the relationship between the observed emotional climate of the meal, behavioral feeding practices, and self-reported parent feeding styles were examined. Mean age of the children was 4.4 years (SD = 0.7) equally distributed across gender. Families were observed on 3 separate dinner occasions. Heights and weight were measured on the parents and children. RESULTS: Parents with self-reported indulgent feeding styles made fewer demands on their children to eat during dinner and showed lower levels of negative affect and intrusiveness. Surprisingly, these parents also showed higher levels of emotional detachment with their children during dinner. Hispanic boys with indulgent parents had significantly higher BMI z scores compared to Hispanic boys in the other three feeding style groups. No other differences were found on child weight status. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that the emotional climate created by indulgent parents during dinner and their lack of demands on their children to eat may play an important role in how young children become overweight. Numerous observed emotional climate and behavioral differences were found between the other self-reported feeding styles as well. Results suggest that parents\u27 self-reported feeding styles may be a proxy for the emotional climate of the dinner meal, which may in turn influence the child\u27s eating behaviors and weight status

Large scale anisotropies on halo infall

We perform a statistical analysis of the peculiar velocity field around dark matter haloes in numerical simulations. We examine different properties of the infall of material onto haloes and its relation to central halo shapes and the shape of the large scale surrounding regions (LSSR). We find that the amplitude of the infall velocity field along the halo shape minor axis is larger than that along the major axis. This is consistent for general triaxial haloes, and for both prolate and oblate systems. We also report a strong anisotropy of the velocity field along the principal axes of the LSSR. The infall velocity field around dark matter haloes reaches a maximum value along the direction of the minor axis of the LSSR, whereas along the direction of its major axis, it exhibits the smallest velocities. We also analyse the dependence of the matter velocity field on the local environment. The amplitude of the infall velocity at high local density regions is larger than at low local density regions. The velocity field tends to be more laminar along the direction towards the minor axis of the LSSR, where the mean ratio between flow velocity and velocity dispersion is of order unity and nearly constant up to scales of 15 Mpc/h. We also detect anisotropies in the outflowing component of the velocity field, showing a maximum amplitude along the surrounding LSSR major axis.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ

Maternal Feeding Styles and Food Parenting Practices as Predictors of Longitudinal Changes in Weight Status in Hispanic Preschoolers from Low-Income Families

Objective. The aim was to investigate the influence of feeding styles and food parenting practices on low-income children’s weight status over time. Method. Participants were 129 Latina parents and their Head Start children participating in a longitudinal study. Children were assessed at baseline (4 to 5 years old) and again eighteen months later. At each time point, parents completed questionnaires and height and weight measures were taken on the child. Results. The indulgent feeding style (parent-report at baseline) was associated with increased child BMI z-score eighteen months later compared to other feeding styles. Authoritative, authoritarian, and uninvolved feeding styles were not significantly associated with increased child BMI z-score. Child BMI z-score at Time 1 (strongest) and maternal acculturation were positive predictors of child BMI z-score at Time 2. Maternal use of restriction positively predicted and maternal monitoring negatively predicted Time 2 BMI z-score, but only when accounting for feeding styles. Conclusion. This is the first study to investigate the impact of feeding styles on child weight status over time. Results suggest that indulgent feeding predicts later increases in children’s weight status. The interplay between feeding styles and food parenting practices in influencing child weight status needs to be further explored