Migration and Informal versus Formal Business Creation in Mexico

The following thesis examines the relationship between migration and informality in Mexico. Since the 1980's migration has become increasingly important to the Mexican economy, as the flow of remittances alone add 26 billion dollars per year to the Mexican economy (World Bank 2006). Similarly, the informal sector has become more important, as an estimated 62% of Mexicans work in the informal sector (Arias et al. 2010). Despite the prevalence of both little is known about their interaction. This thesis attempts to ameliorate that gap by specifically examining migration and the formation of formal versus informal businesses. The household data come from the Mexican Migration Project, while the community level data come from the Mexican census. Multilevel modeling techniques (random effects) were used because of the previous literatures suggested influence of community level factors (Lindstrom 1996). Additionally, multinomial or multi-risk models were run to see which factors predicted involvement in each respective sector. Community level factors seemed to be more important for informal businesses, while previous capital attainment and socio-economic status were more important for formal businesses. The results indicate that through migration Mexico saw a proliferation of informality, as households used migration to overcome capital constraints. In addition, this research indicates that migration does not seem to attenuate inequality through business formation. Future research needs to be completed on the influence of these informal businesses on broader, community level development

Offspring Educational Attainment and Older Parents\u27 Cognition in Mexico

Population-level disparities in later-life cognitive health point to the importance of family resources. Although the bulk of prior work establishes the directional flow of resources from parents to offspring, the linked lives perspective raises the question of how offspring resources could affect parental health as well. This paper examines whether adult children\u27s education influences older parents\u27 (aged 50+) cognitive health in Mexico, where schooling reforms have contributed to significant gains in the educational achievements of recent birth cohorts. Harnessing a change in compulsory school laws and applying an instrumental variables approach, we found that each year of offspring schooling was associated with higher overall cognition among parents, but was less predictive across different cognitive functioning domains. More offspring schooling improved parents\u27 cognitive abilities in verbal learning, verbal fluency, and orientation, but not in visual scanning, visuo-spatial ability, or visual memory. The beneficial effects of offspring schooling on those cognitive domains are more salient for mothers compared to fathers, suggesting potential gendered effects in the influence of offspring schooling. The results remained robust to controls for parent-child contact and geographic proximity, suggesting other avenues through which offspring education could affect parental health and a pathway for future research. Our findings contribute to growing research which stresses the causal influence of familial educational attainment on population health

Motivational interviewing to enhance nicotine patch treatment for smoking cessation among homeless smokers: a randomized controlled trial

Aims To assess the effects of adding motivational interviewing ( MI ) counseling to nicotine patch for smoking cessation among homeless smokers. Design Two‐group randomized controlled trial with 26‐week follow‐up. Participants and setting A total of 430 homeless smokers from emergency shelters and transitional housing units in M inneapolis/ S t Paul, M innesota, USA . Intervention and measurements All participants received 8‐week treatment of 21‐mg nicotine patch. In addition, participants in the intervention group received six individual sessions of MI counseling which aimed to increase adherence to nicotine patches and to motivate cessation. Participants in the standard care control group received one session of brief advice to quit smoking. Primary outcome was 7‐day abstinence from cigarette smoking at 26 weeks, as validated by exhaled carbon monoxide and salivary cotinine. Findings Using intention‐to‐treat analysis, verified 7‐day abstinence rate at week 26 for the intervention group was non‐significantly higher than for the control group (9.3% versus 5.6%, P  = 0.15). Among participants who did not quit smoking, reduction in number of cigarettes from baseline to week 26 was equally high in both study groups (−13.7 ± 11.9 for MI versus −13.5 ± 16.2 for standard care). Conclusions Adding motivational interviewing counseling to nicotine patch did not increase smoking rate significantly at 26‐week follow‐up for homeless smokers.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98308/1/add12140.pd

Case Report: Cerebral Edema and Tonsillar Herniation Leading to Brain Death After Cocaine Use in a Patient with End-Stage Renal Disease

The effect of cocaine use on the cerebral vasculature is well understood, with potential for ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. The risk of adverse effects can be prolonged and amplified in patients with renal dysfunction and uremia. Uremia-induced osmotic gradients and upregulation of aquaporin channels along with cocaine-induced blood-brain barrier degradation may act synergistically. We present the first known case of a non-compliant dialysis patient who suffers cerebral edema, tonsillar herniation, and brain death following cocaine use. A 32-year-old female with end-stage renal disease presented with shortness of breath and flu-like symptoms for one week and was alert and oriented with no neurologic deficits. The patient had missed her last 5 dialysis treatments and labs revealed hyperkalemia and uremia. Urine drug screen was positive for cocaine, opiates, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Following dialysis and metabolic correction, she developed an irregular respiratory pattern and stridor and received neck computed tomography (CT). The patient became unresponsive with dilated and nonreactive pupils. CT revealed absent intraluminal carotid and vertebral artery flow at the skull base, cerebellar tonsil herniation, and anoxic brain injury. Vital signs were maintained, and cerebral edema was managed with 45-degree head-of-bed elevation and mannitol. Following cerebral edema treatment, the patient had preserved respiratory drive, fixed and dilated pupils, no corneal reflex, no cough or gag reflex, and negative oculocephalic reflex. Repeat cranial CT angiography revealed bilateral hemispheric edema, basal subarachnoid hemorrhage, and confirmed absent intracranial blood flow. Brain death was diagnosed with a radioisotope cerebral blood flow study. The use of cocaine in patients with renal dysfunction may increase the risk of cerebral edema and tonsillar herniation due to synergistic physiologic effects. Physicians should be aware of this interaction to allow for preventative measures

Implementing community-based participatory research among African Americans with serious and persistent mental illness: A qualitative study

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an approach that involves community members in research, not as research participants, but as partners. However, few studies have examined CBPR projects conducted among African Americans with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI). This article focuses specifically on the Inspiring Change (IC) model, which includes a leadership trio comprised of an academic researcher, health service provider and an African American with lived experience of SPMI. Our purpose is to investigate how the IC model shapes not only how research is conducted but how research is understood and experienced by the community. We achieve this purpose by (1) describing an innovative CBPR model and pilot projects that involved African Americans with SPMI in all stages of the research project; and (2) presenting findings from qualitative interviews conducted with CBPR team members about strengths, challenges and leadership particular to this model of CBPR, an area rarely explored in CBPR literature. With the guidance of an advisory board and the manualised IC curriculum, two CBPR teams initiated and conducted nine-month long research projects focusing on health disparities for African Americans with SPMI. Members of the two CBPR teams (n = 13), which included individuals with lived experience, service providers and researchers, completed qualitative interviews. Benefits of CBPR projects included opportunities to learn, a sense of purpose in helping others and increased trust of research participants. Challenges pertained to disorganisation of leadership, lack of transparency with compensation, time pressures and interpersonal conflicts. These challenges highlight the importance of preparing and supporting those from both academic and lived experience backgrounds in skills necessary to thrive in leadership roles for CBPR projects. &nbsp

A population study comparing screening performance of prototypes for depression and anxiety with standard scales

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Screening instruments for mental disorders need to be short, engaging, and valid. Current screening instruments are usually questionnaire-based and may be opaque to the user. A prototype approach where individuals identify with a description of an individual with typical symptoms of depression, anxiety, social phobia or panic may be a shorter, faster and more acceptable method for screening. The aim of the study was to evaluate the accuracy of four new prototype screeners for predicting depression and anxiety disorders and to compare their performance with existing scales.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Short and ultra-short prototypes were developed for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder (PD) and Social Phobia (SP). Prototypes were compared to typical short and ultra-short self-report screening scales, such as the Centre for Epidemiology Scale, CES-D and the GAD-7, and their short forms. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) version 6 <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B1">1</abbr></abbrgrp> was used as the gold standard for obtaining clinical criteria through a telephone interview. From a population sample, 225 individuals who endorsed a prototype and 101 who did not were administered the MINI. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted for the short and ultra short prototypes and for the short and ultra short screening scales.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study found that the rates of endorsement of the prototypes were commensurate with prevalence estimates. The short-form and ultra short scales outperformed the short and ultra short prototypes for every disorder except GAD, where the GAD prototype outperformed the GAD 7.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The findings suggest that people may be able to self-identify generalised anxiety more accurately than depression based on a description of a prototypical case. However, levels of identification were lower than expected. Considerable benefits from this method of screening may ensue if our prototypes can be improved for Major Depressive Disorder, Social Phobia and Panic Disorder.</p

The Story of Here: A Graphic Guide to Holy Cross and College Hill

This illustrated guide captures the history of the section of Worcester where the College of the Holy Cross is located. Historical sources and imaginative interpretations based on historical research are combined to create a unique then and now approach and experience of double vision to tell the story of College Hill. This guide was a project of Montserrat Seminar 111N, taught by Prof. Sarah Luria in Spring 2020.https://crossworks.holycross.edu/hc_books/1051/thumbnail.jp

Mixed Chamber Ensembles

Kennesaw State University School of Music presents Mixed Chamber Ensembles, 4:30 p.m. performance.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1358/thumbnail.jp

Impact of resilience enhancing programs on youth surviving the Beslan school siege

The objective of this study was to evaluate a resilience-enhancing program for youth (mean age = 13.32 years) from Beslan, North Ossetia, in the Russian Federation. The program, offered in the summer of 2006, combined recreation, sport, and psychosocial rehabilitation activities for 94 participants, 46 of who were taken hostage in the 2004 school tragedy and experienced those events first hand. Self-reported resilience, as measured by the CD-RISC, was compared within subjects at the study baseline and at two follow-up assessments: immediately after the program and 6 months later. We also compared changes in resilience levels across groups that differed in their traumatic experiences. The results indicate a significant intra-participant mean increase in resilience at both follow-up assessments, and greater self-reported improvements in resilience processes for participants who experienced more trauma events

Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Resilience Scale and its short version

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The clinical relevance of resilience has received considerable attention in recent years. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Resilience Scale (RS) and short version of the RS (RS-14).</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>The original English version of RS was translated to Japanese and the Japanese version was confirmed by back-translation. Participants were 430 nursing and university psychology students. The RS, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) were administered. Internal consistency, convergent validity and factor loadings were assessed at initial assessment. Test-retest reliability was assessed using data collected from 107 students at 3 months after baseline. Mean score on the RS was 111.19. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the RS and RS-14 were 0.90 and 0.88, respectively. The test-retest correlation coefficients for the RS and RS-14 were 0.83 and 0.84, respectively. Both the RS and RS-14 were negatively correlated with the CES-D and SDS, and positively correlated with the RSES, SSQ and PSS (all p < 0.05), although the correlation between the RS and CES-D was somewhat lower than that in previous studies. Factor analyses indicated a one-factor solution for RS-14, but as for RS, the result was not consistent with previous studies.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study demonstrates that the Japanese version of RS has psychometric properties with high degrees of internal consistency, high test-retest reliability, and relatively low concurrent validity. RS-14 was equivalent to the RS in internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity. Low scores on the RS, a positive correlation between the RS and perceived stress, and a relatively low correlation between the RS and depressive symptoms in this study suggest that validity of the Japanese version of the RS might be relatively low compared with the original English version.</p