Psychometric Evaluation of an instrument for Assessing Policy Outcomes for Families with Children Who Have Severe Developmental Disabilities: The Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale (BCFQLS) in a sample of families with children who have severe developmental disabilities. The study sought to determine whether or not the scale could be used to measure the quality of life of such families and to differentiate between the quality of life of two family groups—those whose child lives in the family home and those whose child lives outside the family home. The study used an observational, cross-sectional design and both qualitative and quantitative methods. Self-identified primary caregivers of 54 families with children who have severe developmental disabilities in the Tidewater, Virginia area completed three surveys and provided additional input for the purpose of assessing the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the BCFQLS as well as its face, content, and criterion validity when used with such families. The BCFQLS was found to be a fairly reliable and valid instrument for measuring the quality of life of individual families with children who have severe developmental disabilities and reside either in or outside the family home. Study limitations are identified and discussed, and suggestions for scale improvement and future research are provided

Quality of Life of Families with Children Who Have Severe Developmental Disabilities: A Comparison Based on Child Residence

This study measured the quality of life of two groups of families with children who had severe developmental disabilities-families whose child lived at home and families whose child lived in a residential facility. Participants were 54 primary caregivers of children who had severe intellectual disabilities and who lacked the ability to both ambulate without assistance and communicate conversationally. Participants completed the Family Quality of Life Scale (Hoffman, Marquis, Poston, Summers, & Turnbull, 2006). Analyses revealed that both groups rated their family quality of life (FQOL) as exemplary. FQOL was higher in the family home group than in the residential facility group in all areas. Seven items from the family interaction and parenting subscales were statistically different between the groups. Implications for families, service providers, and policymakers are discussed. (Contains 3 tables.

Faultlines Shaping Higher Education Policy and Opportunity in California: Executive Summary

We present findings from a case study on California’s higher education sector that explores the relationships between public policy, state contexts, and higher education performance over the past two decades (2000–2020). Through the collection of primary and secondary data, including interviews with 16 policymakers, education policy leaders, and researchers inside and outside of California, we document the development, manifestation, and implications of three primary faultlines: (a) Persistent disparities by race, socioeconomic status, and geography that combine to sharply limit individual educational and economic opportunity for many within the state. Any measure of performance in higher education must address how higher education closes these disparities relative to the magnitude of the disparities in the population. (b) Fragmentation, or the policy-related phenomena and structures that contribute to a lack of alignment and synchronicity in the statewide approach to postsecondary education. (c) Volatility, or extreme variations and unpredictability in state and local funding for higher education, with impacts that extend into institutional resource allocations and family budgets. Our case study documents a need for sustained state policy leadership in higher education or sustained public stewardship of higher education. Year-over-year, session-by-session, and sector-by-sector agreements fall short in addressing the deep faultlines outlined in this report. We make several recommendations for how public policy can begin to address these issues and better meet the needs of the state’s populous

Constructive conversations on resilient urban futures

This publication is a co-created compilation of various conversations concerning our possibilities and pathways towards resilient urban futures. A series of interviews conducted so far within the Real Estate and Sustainable Crisis Management in Urban Environments (RESCUE) project on several occasions – such as conferences, research visit – have been documented here to give food for thinking and discussions concerning resilience. The questions of the interviews have been tailor-made to address the expertise of each interviewee, while the core of interviews touches upon the topic of urban resilience in its all dimensions as well as the issues of forward-looking thinking and action. Another type of anticipatory method, as a conversational tool we wish to experiment with, is a narrative. The researchers of the RESCUE project chose an actual case area for reviewing its crisis resilience as well as potential for wellbeing of its residents and the preservation of the environment. The related conversations were used to construct a narrative of the area in 2050 and test an imagined pathway towards resilience. The narrative is a work in progress – meant to be used for reflections, elaborations, discussions and further narratives among its readers, stakeholders to the area and the topic at hand as well those interested in designing and constructing resilient urban futures

Mysterious faces of hybridisation: an anticipatory approach for crisis literacy

Our complex world is changing at such a pace that we are struggling to address many of the global challenges ahead of us. As one of its symptoms, hybridisation means that fields, functions, characteristics and roles are increasingly combined and fused. This paper is an opening to the study of hybridisation, as an overlooked topic in the field of futures studies and foresight. We explore how hybridisation could be integrated into foresight through identification and interpretation of emerging issues and weak signals. As our case study, we examined how hybridisation manifests in the urban texture. We performed an anticipatory analysis of three hybrid urban spaces of pioneering architecture. We assumed a view to hybridity that considered diverse futures, images of the future, and open futures to detect what is opening or closing. Coming to terms with hybridisation and its expressions may inform action on anticipatory governance by improving the detection of opportunities, risks and crises. Deeper understanding of budding developments that removes ambiguity may be a nudge towards novel solutions and promote futures resilience.</p

Landscapes of our uncertain futures: Towards mapping and understanding crisis-related concepts and definitions

This report "Landscapes of Our Uncertain Futures. Towards mapping and understanding crisis-related concepts and definitions" is published as a result of a literature review and related conceptual analysis conducted within the RESCUE Project (Real Estate in Sustainable Crisis Management in Urban Environments). In early stages of the project it became evident that in order to achieve efficient results in research and policy action efforts for sustainable urban development and crisis management, mutual understanding of key concepts and their definitions is needed. This is because identifying and grasping the major phenomena at play in our turbulent world – crisis society – may be varied, and besides there are several different definitions of them used in the literature. If, however, preliminary discussions and analyses can open up the contents and meanings of such phenomena, joint work and concluding recommendations are supported and expedited on the basis of shared understanding. A key theme in this conceptual analysis is 'crisis' and crisis-related phenomena, within the framework of the now present VUCA world. The landscapes of our uncertain futures are thus depicted, and replenished via a literature review and its key findings. These insights are meant to help paving the way for the process of creating resilient cities.</p

Characterisation and Germline Transmission of Cultured Avian Primordial Germ Cells

Background: Avian primordial germ cells (PGCs) have significant potential to be used as a cell-based system for the study and preservation of avian germplasm, and the genetic modification of the avian genome. It was previously reported that PGCs from chicken embryos can be propagated in culture and contribute to the germ cell lineage of host birds. Principal Findings: We confirm these results by demonstrating that PGCs from a different layer breed of chickens can be propagated for extended periods in vitro. We demonstrate that intracellular signalling through PI3K and MEK is necessary for PGC growth. We carried out an initial characterisation of these cells. We find that cultured PGCs contain large lipid vacuoles, are glycogen rich, and express the stem cell marker, SSEA-1. These cells also express the germ cell-specific proteins CVH and CDH. Unexpectedly, using RT-PCR we show that cultured PGCs express the pluripotency genes c-Myc, cKlf4, cPouV, cSox2, and cNanog. Finally, we demonstrate that the cultured PGCs will migrate to and colonise the forming gonad of host embryos. Male PGCs will colonise the female gonad and enter meiosis, but are lost from the gonad during sexual development. In male hosts, cultured PGCs form functional gametes as demonstrated by the generation of viable offspring. Conclusions: The establishment of in vitro cultures of germline competent avian PGCs offers a unique system for the study of early germ cell differentiation and also a comparative system for mammalian germ cell development. Primary PGC lines will form the basis of an alternative technique for the preservation of avian germplasm and will be a valuable tool fo

Flourishing Urban Futures to Overcome Polycrises – Roadmap for Resilience 2050

This report “Flourishing Urban Futures to Overcome Polycrises – Roadmap for Resilience 2050” is published as the result of two Millennium Project Special Sessions, held at the annual FFRC Futures Conference in Turku, Finland, as interactive Futures Cliniques. The results for the two MP Special Sessions – 2022 and 2023 – are here combined to supply the reader with a continuum of reflections of urban resilience on which the overall results are based. Accordingly, the nature of the report is illustrative documentation of a methodological experiment for participatory cognitive crisis management within the RESCUE project. Developing resilient and smart cities have become increasingly important considerations for the future. The rapid development of AI will also undoubtedly influence this development in significant, yet to be determined, ways. The way in which AI will be regulated is under scrutiny and will determine its effectiveness, scope and ramifications, also in the field of urban planning. Resilient and smart cities will be influential in the future well-being of its citizens. Not only that, but the development of not one but two or more crises – polycrises – will likely become more prevalent in societies of the future. How could these cities look like, what services could be offered, how would these cities deal with polycrises, and what policies are needed, and which roadmap is adapted? These questions have been asked in the Millennium Project Special Sessions. Finding ways to secure resilient development of these cities for the future were the aim of the Special Sessions. The Futures Cliniques consisted of presentations and small group working. In the 2023 session, five groups addressed five different crises and even added another crisis to the one given to them for elaboration, to demonstrate immersion in a polycrisis. The insights provided by this report are intended to help give momentum to the rise of resilient, inclusive, and eco-smart cities of the future

SURPRISING ENERGY FUTURES : Neo-Carbon Energy Futures Clinique V

This report describes the process and results of futures clinique Surprising Energy Futures: Anticipating Discontinuities and Testing Resilience of Renewable Energy World with Black Swans, held on 17 May 2017 at Sitra, Helsinki. The event was the fifth futures clinique within the foresight part of the research project Neo-Carbon Enabling Neo-Growth Society – Transformative Scenarios 2050, conducted by Finland Futures Research Centre. The aim of the event was to contribute to the four transformative societal scenarios of Neo-Carbon Energy project. The event consisted of presentations and intermittent working sessions. Dr. Karlheinz Steinmüller discussed the topic of Black Swans and VUCA World, with comments by Prof. Jarno Limnéll