A meta-ethnographic study of fathers' experiences of caring for a child with a life-limiting illness

Background: There is a growing body of qualitative studies examining parents’ experiences of caring for a child with a life-limiting condition, coinciding with recent evidence that indicates an increasing incidence of paediatric life-limiting conditions. However, research focusing on fathers’ needs remains sparse and is often diluted among a predominant ‘mother’s voice’, raising questions about whether practices in clinical settings meet fathers’ needs. Aim: To provide an in-depth assembly of the current state of knowledge around fathers’ experiences of caring for their children diagnosed with life-limiting conditions and understand the implications for healthcare services and policies. Design: A meta-ethnography was conducted to synthesise findings from existing qualitative studies exploring fathers’ experiences of caring. Data sources: Four electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Science Direct) were searched up until April 2020. Qualitative studies exploring fathers’ care experience and published in English language were included. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist was employed for study quality appraisal. No temporal limits were used. Results: Sixty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. Thirty life-limiting conditions were included. Based on responses from 496 fathers, a conceptual model was developed which translates key experiences within the fathers’ caregiving journeys. The overarching concepts identified were: the paradox of support, challenges in the caring process, ‘nobody thinks of men’, impact on family life and the fall of the curtain: an irrevocably altered world. These and associated sub-concepts are discussed, with recommendations for future research and practice provided. Conclusion: The findings indicate the value of a family-oriented approach to develop psychosocial interventions and support channels for fathers, thus empowering them whilst reducing the care-giving burden on the family unit

Radical Folk Heroes: Anansi & Br’er Rabbit’s West African Origins & Their Forced Pilgrimages

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature of Bard College

The Relationship between Micro-organisms and Soil Aggregation

RESP-280

Consumer Protection Rights and "Free" Digital Content

Discusses the proposals of the draft Directive on contracts for the supply of digital content that extend consumer rights and remedies to supplies of digital content made in exchange for the consumer's data rather than money. Assesses whether the provision of data should be treated as a form of consideration. Considers the business implications of imposing the same consumer protection duties on the suppliers of "free" and paid-for services

STEM Education Fiscal Year 2015: An Analysis of Educational Investments and Expectations

In his Fiscal Year 2015 budget, President Obama proposed a strengthened investment in education with particular emphasis on STEM. With a $600.1 million budget, the President proposed several initiatives directed primarily at pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 (P–12) education. These initiatives will target the improvement of teaching and learning in P–12. Also, the postsecondary sector will target the improvement of undergraduate STEM education and increase minority participation in STEM. Anticipated returns on these investments include more and better prepared, connected, and informed STEM teachers; accelerated introduction of proven, evidence-based STEM pedagogies; increased youth engagement in STEM in traditional and informal settings; increased participation in STEM from traditionally underrepresented groups; and increased retention of students in STEM. With the President’s strong motivation toward providing students with relevant learning experiences that teach real-world skills, integrative STEM education is proposed as the vehicle to achieve the articulated goals. It is anticipated that STEM will become a foundational component of every student’s educational experience across the country, which will ultimately lead to a broader STEM-literate populous and a more robust STEM workforce. STEM education is touted as a critical area of education that will determine the future global positioning of the United States. This governmental and monetary support is encouraging, but we question whether STEM is a genuine priority considering that the STEM education budget represents less than 1% of the U.S. Department of Education’s budget and only 0.015% of the country’s overall budget. Is the funding in line with the purported importance, and will it be sufficient to achieve the articulated goals and expected returns on investment

Protocol for a meta-ethnographic study of the experience of loss and bereavement in fathers of children diagnosed with life-limiting illnesses

This study aims to provide an in-depth assembly of the current state of knowledge around fathers’ experiences of loss and bereavement following their children’s life-limiting conditions. Previous research has predominantly explored the mothers’ experiences of bereavement and their emotional and psychosocial needs, either explicitly or within ‘parent’ or ‘family’ samples. Fathers are often the forgotten parent. There is an immediate call to understand fathers’ experiences to inform appropriate psychosocial interventions and support channels

Passive Tactile Feedback Facilitates Mental Rotation of Handheld Objects

Mental rotation of objects improves when passive tactile information for the rotating object accompanies the imagined rotation (Wraga, Creem, & Proffitt, 2000). We examined this phenomenon further using a within-subjects paradigm involving handheld objects. In Experiment 1, participants imagined rotating an unseen object placed on their upturned palms. The participants were faster at mental rotation when the object was rotated on their palm than when the object remained stationary. Experiment 2 tested whether the performance advantage would endure when the participants received tactile information for only the start- and endpoints of the rotation event. This manipulation did not improve performance, relative to a stationary control. Experiment 3 revealed that ambiguous tactile information, continuous with the rotation event but independent of object shape, actually degraded performance, relative to a stationary control. In Experiment 4, we found that continuous tactile rotation discrepant from imagined object movement also hindered performance, as compared with continuous tactile information aligned with imagined object movement. The findings suggest a tight coupling between tactile information specifying continuous object rotation and the corresponding internal representation of the rotating object. Copyright 2008 Psychonomic Society, Inc