A Content Analysis of Criminal Justice Policy Review, 1986-2008

Academic disciplines have been characterized as static institutions that do not change or conform to outside forces. Abbott (1999) and Silbey (2000) have discussed this issue in relation to how the history of refereed journals in the social sciences can provide information on department, institution, and disciplinary changes that often wear a false guise of continuity. This paper analyzes the content of Criminal Justice Policy Review by replicating the methodology Silbey (2000) used to study the content of Law & Society Review in terms of editorship, authorship, article contents, method and mode of research, and article topics. The results indicate that, although changes in the content of Criminal Justice Policy Review over time may be small, they exist and most correspond with changes in the department, institution, and discipline. Changes in journal content also appear to have been influenced by changes in editorial philosophy and increasing interest in raising the stature of the journal within the discipline

Panel. Faulkner and the Popular Magazine

Programmed for Seduction: Faulkner\u27s Fiction and Men\u27s Magazines of the 1950s / Kristi Rowan Humphreys, Texas Tech UniversityThis study analyzes the use of Faulkner’s fiction in men’s magazines of the 1950s, The Dude: The Magazine Devoted to Pleasure (1956) and The Gent: An Approach to Relaxation (1957). The characters and themes in Faulkner’s stories integrate with the seemingly disconnected adjacent content, thus working toward the magazines’ ultimate goals of seduction. This study contends that an analysis of these integrations—of Faulkner’s short stories and their neighboring content—within both 1957 issues of The Dude and The Gent, reveals the ways in which Faulkner’s fiction has been programmed for seduction.Gearing Up For War: Faulkner\u27s Two Soldiers and The Saturday Evening Post / Jennifer Nolan-Stinson“Two Soldiers,” Faulkner’s story about a young boy’s reaction to his brother’s decision to enlist after Pearl Harbor, appeared as the lead item in the March 28, 1942 issue of The Saturday Evening Post during a period of editorial upheaval and increasingly war-oriented coverage. Looking beyond the text, the advertisements, articles, and even the poetry bombard the reader with evidence of and calls for service. In this context, “Two Soldiers” provides a rare and much-needed expression of Americans’ complex and conflicted feelings about having recently entered the war, which challenges scholarly oversimplifications of the story as unequivocally patriotic or mere pandering. The Most Horrific Tale : Faulkner, Sanctuary and The Shudder Pulps / Matthew R. Vaughn, Jefferson CollegeAlthough Sanctuary is usually considered an example of Faulkner’s “popular” work, its startling combination of pulp horror with modernist technique illustrates the aesthetic affinity between pulp and modernist writing. By reading Sanctuary alongside the pulp horror stories of John H. Knox, I demonstrate the ways in which both horror fiction and Faulkner’s novel combine sensationalism with a modernist subversion of heteronormativity. In Sanctuary and horror fiction, the pleasure of the sensational text is derived not through identification with the villain but through vicarious participation in the distress of the pulp damsel

Reading Beyond the Page: Contextualizing Reading Within the Lives of Avid Readers

My dissertation seeks to add to our understanding of reading as a social and cultural practice by examining the roles that reading plays within the everyday lives of four avid readers. The recent proliferation of national reading studies in the English-speaking world indicates a current international preoccupation with reading, but neither these studies nor most previous academic scholarship on reading have taken actual, individual readers into account. Through employing a self-reflexive ethnographic life history approach that includes a series of interviews with each reader and an analysis of how the readers arrange their reading materials in their homes, my work contextualizes how readers use reading and make it meaningful. I argue that new questions and emphases emerge once we center studies of reading within the lives and words of actual readers. For example, my focus on these readers' daily reading practices reveals problems inherent in privileging book and literary reading and points to the need to include a broader variety of genres and a wider array of formats, such as periodicals and online reading, if we wish to understand how reading is used in everyday life. Looking at each reader's life history also emphasizes the need for considerations of the influences of space and time on reading, both at home and while traveling, as well as the material aspects of the reading experience. Furthermore, when we pay attention to the complex negotiations each reader makes between her/his reading interests, social locations, and cultural traditions, it becomes clear that generalizations about groups of readers suppress individual relationships that readers have with their cultural and social influences and therefore how each of these interact with reading. What my dissertation makes most clear is that we must begin to expand our notion of reading beyond the page and into the lives of individual readers if we wish to understand it as a cultural practice

Massage therapy for symptom reduction and improved quality of life in children with cancer in palliative care: A pilot study

Background: For children with cancer in palliative care, pain and worry are common and frequently under-managed, which negatively impacts quality of life (QOL). Massage therapy (MT) can lead to reduced pain in children with chronic illnesses. Children with cancer have experienced lower anxiety after MT. No studies have examined the effects of MT in pediatric oncology patients receiving palliative care. Objective: Conduct a MT intervention to determine intervention acceptability and initial effects on ratings of pain, worry reduction, and quality of life. Design: Pre-post single group pilot study. Setting/Subjects: Eight children with cancer (age 10–17) and one of their parents were recruited from a palliative care service. Procedure/Measurements: Baseline (one week prior to intervention): demographics, MT expectations, QOL, and pain measures. Intervention (one month): MT was provided once per week, with children\u27s pain and worry ratings occurring immediately before and after each MT session. Follow Up (4–6 weeks after baseline): QOL, pain, and MT/study acceptability questionnaires. Results: Participants reported significant decreases in pain following two MT sessions, and worry following one session. No significant changes in pain symptoms and QOL were found between baseline and follow up. Participants positively endorsed the study and the MT intervention, and there were no adverse effects reported. Conclusions: MT may lead to immediate decreases in pain and worry in children with cancer who are receiving palliative care, however the effects may not be sustained long term. Difficulties regarding protocol feasibility including recruitment and study compliance remain important considerations for future work

Self-management needs of Irish adolescents with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA): how can a Canadian web-based programme meet these needs?

Background Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) affects over 1000 children and adolescents in Ireland, potentially impacting health-related quality-of-life. Accessible self-management strategies, including Internet-based interventions, can support adolescents in Ireland where specialist rheumatology care is geographically-centralised within the capital city. This study interviewed adolescents with JIA, their parents, and healthcare professionals to (i) explore the self-management needs of Irish adolescents; and (ii) evaluate the acceptability of an adapted version of a Canadian JIA self-management programme (Teens Taking Charge: Managing Arthritis Online, or TTC) for Irish users. Methods Focus groups and interviews were conducted with Irish adolescents with JIA (N = 16), their parents (N = 13), and Irish paediatric healthcare professionals (HCPs; N = 22). Adolescents were aged 12–18 (Mage = 14.19 years), and predominantly female (62.5%). Participants identified the needs of adolescents with JIA and evaluated the usefulness of the TTC programme. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Results Five themes emerged: independent self-management; acquiring skills and knowledge to manage JIA; unique challenges of JIA in Ireland; views on web-based interventions; and understanding through social support. Adolescents acknowledged the need for independent self-management and gradually took additional responsibilities to achieve this goal. However, they felt they lacked information to manage their condition independently. Parents and adolescents emphasised the need for social support and felt a peer-support scheme could provide additional benefit to adolescents if integrated within the TTC programme. All participants endorsed the TTC programme to gain knowledge about JIA and offered suggestions to make the programme relevant to Irish users. Conclusions There is scope for providing easily-accessible, accurate information to Irish families with JIA. The acceptability of adapting an existing JIA self-management intervention for Irish users was confirmed

Lending an Ear: iPeer2Peer plus Teens Taking Charge online self-management to empower adolescents with arthritis in Ireland: protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial

Introduction Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) negatively affects adolescents’ everyday activities. To address the need for innovative, effective, convenient, low-cost psychosocial self-management programmes, we developed an Irish version of Canadian Teens Taking Charge (TTC) and integrated it with Skype-based peer support iPeer2Peer (iP2P). Objectives To explore the feasibility and preliminary outcome impact (effectiveness) of an integrated iP2P and Irish TTC, via three-arm (treatment as usual, TTC and iP2P–TTC) pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT); and determine feasibility and sample size for a full RCT. To ensure active involvement of adolescents with JIA via a Young Person Advisory Panel and examine how participants experienced the study. Finally, to see if TTC and iP2P with TTC reduce costs for families. Methods and analysis Recruitment of 60 families will be ongoing until July 2019, via healthcare professionals and support groups. Analysis will consist of single-blinded (outcome assessment), three-arm pilot RCT, using online questionnaires, with assessments at baseline (T1), after intervention (T2) and 3 months post-intervention (T3). The primary outcomes on feasibility with comparisons of TTC and iP2P–TTC on fidelity, acceptability and satisfaction, engagement and degrees of tailoring. The secondary outcomes will be self-management and self-efficacy and a range of health-related quality-of-life factors, pain indicators and costs. Participants from the intervention groups will be invited to share their perspectives on the process in semistructured interviews. Quantitative data will be analysed using SPSS V.21 and the audio-taped and transcribed qualitative data will be analysed using qualitative content analysis. Dissemination Via journal articles, conference presentations, co-delivered by key stakeholders when possible, launch of accessible, effective and sustainable Internet self-management and peer support for Irish adolescents with JIA

App-based intervention among adolescents with persistent pain: a pilot feasibility randomized controlled trial

Background: Persistent pain in adolescence adversely afects everyday life and is an important public health problem. The primary aim was to determine the feasibility of an 8-week app-based self-management intervention to reduce pain and improve health-related quality of life in a community-based population of adolescents with persistent pain. A secondary aim was to explore diferences in health outcomes between the intervention and control groups. Methods: A sample of 73 adolescents aged 16–19 years with persistent pain from a community-based population were randomized into 2 groups. The intervention group received the Norwegian culturally adapted version of the iCanCope with PainTM app, which includes symptom tracking, goal setting, self-management strategies, and social support. The attention control group received a symptom tracking app. Feasibility was assessed as attrition rates and level of engagement (interactions with the app). The secondary outcomes included pain intensity, health-related quality of life, self-efcacy, pain self-efcacy, perceived social support from friends, anxiety and depression, and patient global impression. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS. Results: Demographic and baseline outcome variables did not difer between the 2 groups. No diferences were found between the participants completing the study and those who withdrew. Twenty-eight adolescents completed the intervention as planned (62% attrition). Both groups had a low level of app engagement. Intention-to-treat analysis (n = 19 + 14) showed no signifcant diferences in outcomes between groups. However, the large efect size (Cohen’s d = .9) for depression suggested a lower depression score in the intervention group. Conclusions: High treatment attrition and low engagement indicate the need for changes in trial design in a fullscale randomized controlled trial to improve participant retention.publishedVersio

Projected Carbon Dioxide to Increase Grass Pollen and Allergen Exposure Despite Higher Ozone Levels

One expected effect of climate change on human health is increasing allergic and asthmatic symptoms through changes in pollen biology. Allergic diseases have a large impact on human health globally, with 10–30% of the population affected by allergic rhinitis and more than 300 million affected by asthma. Pollen from grass species, which are highly allergenic and occur worldwide, elicits allergic responses in 20% of the general population and 40% of atopic individuals. Here we examine the effects of elevated levels of two greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2), a growth and reproductive stimulator of plants, and ozone (O3), a repressor, on pollen and allergen production in Timothy grass (Phleum pratense L.). We conducted a fully factorial experiment in which plants were grown at ambient and/or elevated levels of O3 and CO2, to simulate present and projected levels of both gases and their potential interactive effects. We captured and counted pollen from flowers in each treatment and assayed for concentrations of the allergen protein, Phl p 5. We found that elevated levels of CO2 increased the amount of grass pollen produced by ∼50% per flower, regardless of O3 levels. Elevated O3 significantly reduced the Phl p 5 content of the pollen but the net effect of rising pollen numbers with elevated CO2 indicate increased allergen exposure under elevated levels of both greenhouse gases. Using quantitative estimates of increased pollen production and number of flowering plants per treatment, we estimated that airborne grass pollen concentrations will increase in the future up to ∼200%. Due to the widespread existence of grasses and the particular importance of P. pratense in eliciting allergic responses, our findings provide evidence for significant impacts on human health worldwide as a result of future climate change

Campus & alumni news

Boston University Medicine was published by the Boston University Medical Campus, and presented stories on events and topics of interest to members of the BU Medical Campus community. It followed the discontinued publication Centerscope as Boston University Medicine from 1991-2005, and was continued as Campus & Alumni News from 2006-2013 before returning to the title Boston University Medicine from 2014-present