Parental use of routines, setting limits, and child screen use during COVID-19: findings from a large Canadian cohort study

BackgroundAn increase in child screen time has been observed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Home environment and parenting practices have been associated with child screen time. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between parental use of routines, limit setting, and child screen time during the (COVID-19) pandemic to inform harm-reducing strategies to limit the potential harms ensued by excessive screen use.MethodsA cohort study was conducted in 700 healthy children (3,628 observations) aged 0–11 years though the TARGet Kids! COVID-19 Study of Children and Families in Toronto, Canada from May 2020-May 2021. The independent variables assessed were parent-reported use of routines and setting limits. Outcomes were parent-reported child daily screen time in minutes and whether the Canadian 24-Hour screen time guideline was met, defined as 0 for <1 years, 60 or less for 1–5 years, and 120 or less for >5 years. Linear and logistic mixed-effects models were fitted using repeated measures of independent variables and outcomes with a priori stratification by developmental stages (<3, 3–4.99, ≥5 years).ResultsA total of 700 children with 3,628 observations were included in this study [mean age = 5.5 (SD = 2.7, max = 11.9) years, female = 47.6%]. Mean change in child screen time before vs. during the pandemic was +51.1 min/day and level of parental use of routines and setting limits remained stable. Lower use of routines was associated with higher child screen time (β = 4.0 min; 95% CI: 0.9, 7.1; p = 0.01) in ages ≥5 years and lower odds of meeting the screen time guideline in ages <3 years and ≥5 years (OR = 0.59; 95% CI: 0.38, 0.88; p = 0.01; OR = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.67, 0.87; p < 0.01). Lower use of limit setting was associated with higher child screen time and lower odds of meeting the screen time guideline in ages ≥5 years (β = 3.8 min; 95% CI: 0.69, 6.48; p < 0.01; OR = 0.86; 95% CI: 0.78, 0.94; p < 0.01).ConclusionsLower parental use of routines and limits during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with higher screen time and lower odds of meeting the screen time guideline among school-age children. Results may help inform strategies to promote healthy screen use in this age group

HighP–TNano-Mechanics of Polycrystalline Nickel

We have conducted highP–Tsynchrotron X-ray and time-of-flight neutron diffraction experiments as well as indentation measurements to study equation of state, constitutive properties, and hardness of nanocrystalline and bulk nickel. Our lattice volume–pressure data present a clear evidence of elastic softening in nanocrystalline Ni as compared with the bulk nickel. We show that the enhanced overall compressibility of nanocrystalline Ni is a consequence of the higher compressibility of the surface shell of Ni nanocrystals, which supports the results of molecular dynamics simulation and a generalized model of a nanocrystal with expanded surface layer. The analytical methods we developed based on the peak-profile of diffraction data allow us to identify “micro/local” yield due to high stress concentration at the grain-to-grain contacts and “macro/bulk” yield due to deviatoric stress over the entire sample. The graphic approach of our strain/stress analyses can also reveal the corresponding yield strength, grain crushing/growth, work hardening/softening, and thermal relaxation under highP–Tconditions, as well as the intrinsic residual/surface strains in the polycrystalline bulks. From micro-indentation measurements, we found that a low-temperature annealing (T < 0.4 Tm) hardens nanocrystalline Ni, leading to an inverse Hall–Petch relationship. We explain this abnormal Hall–Petch effect in terms of impurity segregation to the grain boundaries of the nanocrystalline Ni

Exploring the Enforceability of Refugees’ Right to Education: A Comparative Analysis of Human Rights Treaties

Three international treaties form the backbone of refugees’ legal right to education: The Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Nevertheless, a wide gap persists between these favorable international laws and the actual school enrollment of refugee children. This paper presents an empirical analysis of the so-called policy-practice gap in refugee education in order to answer two fundamental questions: What enforcement mechanisms are present in the three international treaties that form the backbone of refugees’ right to education? How do these enforcement mechanisms differ from the enforcement mechanisms in four other international human rights treaties that do not focus specifically on refugees or education? The authors find that the three treaties that address refugees’ right to education are some of the least enforceable in international human rights law. We posit that this finding may be explained by the historic lack of priority given to economic, social, and cultural rights in international law and argue that the unenforceability of the right to an education contributes to the policy-practice gap in refugee education in a direct and significant way

A simple, mixtures-based model for the grain size dependence of strength in nanophase metals

A model is presented for the strength of nanophase metals. The model assumes that polycrystalline metals consist of two phases: the bulk intragranular regions, and the grain boundaries . The boundary phase is treated as a glassy, but not highly rate-dependent material with a constant strength equal to that of the amorphous metal. The crystalline phase is assumed to follow a Hall-Petch equation for the grain-size dependence of strength. Treating the material as a composite, with a rule of mixtures approach, predicts a change in the Hall-Petch slope at small grain sizes, as has been observed. Grain size softening is predicted, but not until sizes below 5 nm. The model is compared to data in the literature. © 1995