FAMILY LAW—THE REHABILITATION ILLUSION: HOW ALIMONY REFORM IN MASSACHUSETTS FAILS TO COMPENSATE FOR CAREGIVING

When the Massachusetts Legislature unanimously passed the Alimony Reform Act of 2011, the bill was heralded as a “sweeping overhaul,” a long overdue change that would improve the predictability of divorce cases in the Commonwealth. This Note examines, from a feminist perspective, the failures of the Alimony Reform Act to fully consider and compensate women for unpaid contributions provided during the course of a marriage. It chronicles alimony’s long standing history in Massachusetts and details the changes the new statutes made, paying particular attention to the newly codified addition of rehabilitative alimony, which provides short term alimony to dependent spouses in order to facilitate re-entry to the workforce, as a statutorily sanctioned alimony option. This Note then compares interpretations of self-sufficiency in Texas and Tennessee, as polarizing examples of how other jurisdictions have determined whether a recipient spouse can be rehabilitated. Texas promotes independence between the parties over economic parity, requiring only that a former spouse be rehabilitated to meet his/her “minimum reasonable needs.” On the other hand, Tennessee’s legislature has gone to great lengths to make it perfectly clear that both parties’ contributions to the household are highly valued. Tennessee’s equality-based approach ensures that an award of rehabilitative alimony will not result in the economic disadvantage of a spouse who made career sacrifices for caregiving. This Note recommends that Massachusetts adopt a legislative definition of self-sufficiency that promotes post-divorce financial parity between the spouses. The persistence of the wage gap and contributing factors, such as unequal pay, gendered career choices, unpaid caregiving work, and negative career consequences of mothering, all act against women’s ability to earn the same as men. Rehabilitation should be limited to only those spouses who can achieve economic success equal to their partners. Using Tennessee’s rehabilitative alimony statute as an example, this Note proposes language that could be used to eliminate any confusion resulting from the pressure to make alimony reform more predictable

Three-dimensional kinematics of the lumbar spine during gait using marker-based systems: a systematic review.

To review the current scientific literature on the assessment of three-dimensional movement of the lumbar spine with a focus on the utilisation of a 3D cluster. Electronic databases PubMed, OVID, CINAHL, The Cochrance Library, ScienceDirect, ProQuest and Web of Knowledge were searched between 1966 and March 2015. The reference lists of the articles that met the inclusion criteria were also searched. From the 1530 articles identified through an initial search, 16 articles met the inclusion criteria. All information relating to methodology and kinematic modelling of the lumbar segment along with the outcome measures were extracted from the studies identified for synthesis. Guidelines detailing 3D cluster construction were limited in the identified articles and the lack of information presented makes it difficult to assess the external validity of this technique. Scarce information was presented detailing time-series angle data of the lumbar spine during gait. Further developments of the 3D cluster technique are required and it is essential that the authors provide clear instruction, definitions and standards in their manuscript to improve clarity and reproducibility

Validation of the foot profile score

Background: There are numerous static measures of foot posture but there is no published score of dynamic foot motion. Three-dimensional gait analysis can include a multi-segment foot model like the Oxford Foot Model (OFM) to comprehensively quantify foot kinematic deviations across the gait cycle but it lacks an overall score, like the Gait Profile score (GPS), used to summarize the quality of lower extremity motion. Research question: This paper introduces the Foot Profile Score (FPS), a single number, analogous to the GPS but based on kinematic data of the OFM. The aim of this study is to validate the FPS by studying its properties and design, and analyse it against a clinical assessment of foot deformity. Methods: Concurrent validity was established for the FPS analysing the relationship with Clinical Foot Deformity Score (CFDS) in 60 subjects with a condition affecting the lower limbs globally Content validity was established for the six Foot Variable Scores (FVS) that make up the FPS using a multiple regression of the CFDS on the 6 FVS in the 60 subjects. Predictive validity was established analysing the relationship of the FPS and GPS comparing 60 global involvement subjects with 60 subjects with isolated foot deformity. Results: Pearson correlation between the FPS and CFDS was significant at 0.62 (p &lt; 0.001). Each element of FVS contributes positively to predicting the CFDS with R2 = 0.456 (p &lt; 0.001). FPS contributed independently to the prediction of CFDS (t = 3.9, p &lt; 0.001). The correlation between the GPS and FPS in the global involvement group was significant at r = 0.64 (p &lt; 0.001), while there was no correlation found with r = 0.08 (p = 0.54) in the foot deformity group. Significance: The FPS is the first validated score of dynamic foot motion.</p

What is the functional mobility and quality of life in patients with cerebral palsy following single-event multilevel surgery?

Purpose To report functional mobility in patients with diplegic cerebral palsy (CP) at long-term follow-up after single-event multilevel surgery (SEMLS). The secondary aim was to assess the relationship between functional mobility and quality of life (QoL) in patients previously treated with SEMLS. Methods A total of 61 patients with diplegic CP, mean age at surgery 11 years, eight months (sd 2 years, 5 months), were included. A mean of eight years (sd 3 years, 10 months) after SEMLS, patients were contacted and asked to complete the Functional Mobility Scale (FMS) questionnaire over the telephone and given a weblink to complete an online version of the CP QOL Teen. FMS was recorded for all patients and CP QOL Teen for 23 patients (38%). Results Of patients graded Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) I and II preoperatively, at long-term follow-up the proportion walking independently at home, school/work and in the community was 71% (20/28), 57% (16/28) and 57% (16/28), respectively. Of patients graded GMFCS III preoperatively, at long-term follow-up 82% (27/33) and 76% (25/33) were walking either independently or with an assistive device at home and school/work, respectively, while over community distances 61% (20/33) required a wheelchair. The only significant association between QoL and functional mobility was better ‘feelings about function’ in patients with better home FMS scores (r = 0.55; 95% confidence interval 0.15 to 0.79; p = 0.01). Conclusion The majority of children maintained their preoperative level of functional mobility at long-term follow-up after SEMLS