Boston Hospitality Review: Fall 2016

The Heart of Successful Hotels: Going Beyond the Monopoly Game Strategy By Joseph Khairallah and Andrea Foster -- Fragments of the Past By Peter Szende and Annie Holcombe -- Hospitality Branding in the Age of the Millennial By Allen Adamson and Chekitan S. Dev -- In 2017 What Will a Restaurant Actually Be? A New Taxonomy By Christopher Muller -- The Unreal Thing: Faux Heritage at Disney By Bradford Hudson -- An Insider’s Look at the 2016 Philadelphia Democratic National Convention: Hospitality and Inclusion at Work By Erin Tucker, Leora Halpern Lanz, and Juan Lesme

Reproductive health of young adults with physical disabilities in the U.S.

Previous research shows reduced cervical and breast cancer screening among women with physical disabilities. However, other indicators of reproductive health have been largely ignored. We aimed to compare the reproductive health of young adults in the U.S. with and without physical disabilities in a nationally-representative sample

Unwanted Sex Among Young Adults in the United States: The Role of Physical Disability and Cognitive Performance

This study examined associations between unwanted sexual experiences and both physical disability and cognitive performance in a nationally representative sample of young adults. We used data from 11,878 participants (ages 26–32) in Waves I, III, and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Logistic regressions determined associations between physical disability and level of cognitive performance (using a modified Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test) and the odds of experiencing physically forced and non-physically coerced sex. Approximately 24% of females and 4% of males reported unwanted sexual experiences. Compared to respondents without disabilities, females with a physical disability had greater odds of experiencing forced sex (OR=1.49; 95% CI: 1.06, 2.08), while males with a physical disability had greater odds of coerced sex (OR: 1.90; 95% CI: 1.02, 3.52). Compared to those with average cognitive performance scores, females with scores above 110 had slightly higher odds of coerced sex (OR=1.20; 95% CI: 1.03–1.41). Further research on pathways underlying these associations is needed to inform prevention efforts

Personalized Outreach to University Students With a History of Reading Difficulties: Early Screening and Outreach to Support Academically At-Risk Students

We examined whether identification of and personalized outreach to a group of students with a history of reading difficulties would impact their use of support services and academic outcomes. Using a brief self-report questionnaire, we identified students with a history of reading difficulties (n = 175) and a comparison group of university students without a history of reading difficulties (n = 100). One half of the students with a history of reading difficulties were individually invited to visit the Academic Advising Centre; the other students received standard university communications about and access to university support services. Students with a history of reading difficulties who received personalized outreach in the first semester of their studies were more likely to use the Academic Advising Centre both in the weeks directly following outreach and in their second year of study. Outreach also increased use of the Study Skills Centre, but not the Writing Centre. Further, there was evidence of a positive effect of personalized outreach on the number of credits earned. Finally, the effect of first-semester personalized outreach on use of Academic Advising Centre in the second year was especially prominent for students who experienced serious academic difficulties in their first year. Overall, our results show promising outcomes for a simple, proactive, cost-effective approach to identify and provide personalized outreach to academically at-risk students

Prevalence and Predictors of Sexual Inexperience in Adulthood

The emergence of partnered sexual behavior represents an important developmental transition. However, little is known about individuals who remain sexually inexperienced well into adulthood. We used data from 2,857 individuals who participated in Waves I, III, and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and reported no sexual activity (i.e., oral-genital, vaginal, or anal sex) by age 18 to identify, using discrete-time survival models, adolescent sociodemographic, biosocial, and behavioral characteristics that predicted adult sexual inexperience. The mean age of participants at Wave IV was 28.5 years (SD = 1.92). Over 1 out of 8 participants who did not initiate sexual activity during adolescence remained abstinent as young adults. Sexual non-attraction significantly predicted sexual inexperience among both males (aOR = 0.5) and females (aOR = 0.6). Males also had lower odds of initiating sexual activity after age 18 if they were non-Hispanic Asian, reported later than average pubertal development, or were rated as physically unattractive (aORs = 0.6–0.7). Females who were overweight, had lower cognitive performance, or reported frequent religious attendance had lower odds of sexual experience (aORs = 0.7–0.8) while those who were rated by the interviewers as very attractive or whose parents had lower educational attainment had higher odds of sexual experience (aORs = 1.4–1.8). Our findings underscore the heterogeneity of this unique population and suggest that there are a number of different pathways that may lead to either voluntary or involuntary adult sexual inexperience. Understanding the meaning of sexual inexperience in young adulthood may have important implications for the study of sexuality development across the life course

Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Discussions: An Opportunity for Mothers to Talk With Their Daughters About Sexual Health

Mother-daughter communication about sex is associated with healthier behavior during adolescence. We sought to characterize mothers’ communication with their daughters about human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and the potential for these discussions to provide an opportunity for talking about sexual health

Amniotic band syndrome and limb body wall complex in Europe 1980-2019

Amniotic band syndrome (ABS) and limb body wall complex (LBWC) have an overlapping phenotype of multiple congenital anomalies and their etiology is unknown. We aimed to determine the prevalence of ABS and LBWC in Europe from 1980 to 2019and to describe the spectrum of congenital anomalies. In addition, we investigated maternal age and multiple birth as possible risk factors for the occurrence of ABS and LBWC. We used data from the European surveillance of congenital anomalies (EUROCAT) network including data from 30 registries over 1980–2019. We included all pregnancy outcomes, including live births, stillbirths, and terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomalies. ABS and LBWC cases were extracted from the central EUROCAT database using coding information responses from the registries. In total, 866 ABS cases and 451 LBWC cases were included in this study. The mean prevalence was 0.53/10,000 births for ABS and 0.34/10,000 births for LBWC during the 40 years. Prevalence of both ABS and LBWC was lower in the 1980s and higher in the United Kingdom. Limb anomalies and neural tube defects were commonly see in ABS, whereas in LBWC abdominal and thoracic wall defects and limb anomalies were most prevalent. Twinning was confirmed as a risk factor for both ABS and LBWC. This study includes the largest cohort of ABS and LBWC cases ever reported over a large time period using standardized EUROCAT data. Prevalence, clinical characteristics, and the phenotypic spectrum are described, and twinning is confirmed as a risk factor.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Amniotic band syndrome and limb body wall complex in Europe 1980-2019.

Amniotic band syndrome (ABS) and limb body wall complex (LBWC) have an overlapping phenotype of multiple congenital anomalies and their etiology is unknown. We aimed to determine the prevalence of ABS and LBWC in Europe from 1980 to 2019 and to describe the spectrum of congenital anomalies. In addition, we investigated maternal age and multiple birth as possible risk factors for the occurrence of ABS and LBWC. We used data from the European surveillance of congenital anomalies (EUROCAT) network including data from 30 registries over 1980-2019. We included all pregnancy outcomes, including live births, stillbirths, and terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomalies. ABS and LBWC cases were extracted from the central EUROCAT database using coding information responses from the registries. In total, 866 ABS cases and 451 LBWC cases were included in this study. The mean prevalence was 0.53/10,000 births for ABS and 0.34/10,000 births for LBWC during the 40 years. Prevalence of both ABS and LBWC was lower in the 1980s and higher in the United Kingdom. Limb anomalies and neural tube defects were commonly seen in ABS, whereas in LBWC abdominal and thoracic wall defects and limb anomalies were most prevalent. Twinning was confirmed as a risk factor for both ABS and LBWC. This study includes the largest cohort of ABS and LBWC cases ever reported over a large time period using standardized EUROCAT data. Prevalence, clinical characteristics, and the phenotypic spectrum are described, and twinning is confirmed as a risk factor