Growing Gaps: Children\u27s Experiences of Inequality in a Faith-based Afterschool Program in the U.S. South

This ethnographic research examines the social service encounter between private providers and child recipients involved in a faith-based afterschool program located in a southern US city. I specifically focus on the tensions and divisions that developed between staff members and participating families in daily programmatic interactions and rhetoric. I highlight how race, class, and gender intersected with age to shape children’s different experiences of the afterschool program and their lives beyond the agency. I also show how these social categories converged in local stories of religious poverty relief, which build upon cultural narratives about American welfare, to blind staff to the realities of children’s lives. These issues resulted in a program where staff members sought to transform children away from imagined social ills they associated with guardians to ideologically and programmatically isolate children from their families. I explore these conditions to draw attention to some of the ways structural inequalities can be reproduced and maintained in private service provision. It is in this context that I examine the increasing prominence of faith-based organizations within domestic poverty policy and relief services

Improvement Of Character Education Through Integrating Teaching Of Holiday In The Second Grade Of Douglass Elementary School, Pittsburg, Texas

Much consideration is now being given to the development of moral and spiritual values in children and youth. However, only a minority of the teaching personnel is really aware of the part the public school can play in the development of such values. The Educational Policies Commission of the National Education Association^- has given much consideration and thought to Moral and Spiritual Values in Public Schools, and it is believed that schools can and should increase their effectiveness in the development of such values. Values should permeate the entire educational process. Although the teaching of values, perhaps more than any other kind of teaching, depends on many variable circumstances, it should be kept in mind that character cannot be taught by simply scheduling so many minutes a day to the task

New research on bioregenerative air/water purification systems

For the past several years, air and water purification systems have been developed and used. This technology is based on the combined activities of plants and microorganisms as they function in a natural environment. More recently, researchers have begun to address the problems associated with indoor air pollution. Various common houseplants are currently being evaluated for their abilities to reduce concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCS) such as formaldehyde and benzene. With development of the Space Exploration Initiative, missions will increase in duration, and problems with resupply necessitates implementation of regenerative technology. Aspects of bioregenerative technology have been included in a habitat known as the BioHome. The ultimate goal is to use this technology in conjunction with physicochemical systems for air and water purification within closed systems. This study continued the risk assessment of bioregenerative technology with emphasis on biological hazards. In an effort to evaluate the risk for human infection, analyses were directed at enumeration of fecal streptococci and enteric viruses with the BioHome waste water treatment system

Transition to secondary school by children with special educational needs

The last 40 years have witnessed huge changes in the educational experiences of children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), with increased emphasis on inclusive approaches to meeting their needs. This has been reflected in international agreements, also in UK Government legislation and reports during this period. Increasingly, pupils with SEN were educated in mainstream schools and so required to make a transition between schools at age 11. Successful transition from primary to secondary education is important for later wellbeing and attainment (West et al 2010). Pupils with SEN face increased demands as they move from spending most of the day with a single class teacher in their primary school to the organisational and relationship complexities of needing to work with several different adults during the week in the secondary setting. This research investigated the experiences of children with SEN statements as they made the potentially difficult transition from mainstream primary to mainstream secondary school. It explored those social, academic and personal organisation matters often mentioned by children as of concern to them at time of transition. A largely qualitative approach was adopted, exploring the views of children, parents and school staff about this process and the approaches taken by mainstream schools in an English Local Authority to facilitate the transition experience for the children involved. Evidence was collected through questionnaires and interviews, and analysed for purposes of this research with the use of vignettes. It was found that the children interviewed looked forward with a mixture of excitement and concern. Most optimism was expressed about the prospect of enhanced opportunities in sport, science and school lunch! There were three broad areas of concern; social concerns ranging from making new friendships to fear of bullying; academic concerns relating to the anticipated increased amount/complexity of the work and decreased support for their specific difficulties; and worries about personal organisation in a larger school with different subjects each requiring specific materials. The eight primary and three secondary schools visited during this research all made arrangements to introduce children to their new school in advance of transfer, with additional activities for children with SEN. Post-transition interviews with the remaining seven participants demonstrated that transition proceeded smoothly, and that any concerns expressed in year 6 were unfounded. The original contribution of this longitudinal research has been to demonstrate the difference between participants' pre-transition expectations and eventual reality, also to ascertain what features participants identified as the most effective in facilitating transition, for a sample of pupils with widely varying SEN

The Many Tunes of Perisomatic Targeting Interneurons in the Hippocampal Network

The axonal targets of perisomatic targeting interneurons make them ideally suited to synchronize excitatory neurons. As such they have been implicated in rhythm generation of network activity in many brain regions including the hippocampus. However, several recent publications indicate that their roles extend beyond that of rhythm generation. Firstly, it has been shown that, in addition to rhythm generation, GABAergic perisomatic inhibition also serves as a current generator contributing significantly to hippocampal oscillatory EEG signals. Furthermore, GABAergic interneurons have a previously unrecognized role in the initiation of hippocampal population bursts, both in the developing and adult hippocampus. In this review, we describe these new observations in detail and discuss the implications they have for our understanding of the mechanisms underlying physiological and pathological hippocampal network activities. This review is part of the Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience's special topic entitled “GABA signaling in health and disease” based on the meeting at the CNCR Amsterdam

Targeted temperature management in emergency medicine: current perspectives

Landmark trials in 2002 showed that therapeutic hypothermia (TH) after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation resulted in improved likelihood of good neurologic recovery compared to standard care without TH. Since that time, TH has been frequently instituted in a wide range of cardiac arrest patients regardless of initial heart rhythm. Recent evidence has evaluated how, when, and to what degree TH should be instituted in cardiac arrest victims. We outline early evidence, as well as recent trials, regarding the use of TH or targeted temperature management in these patients. We also provide evidence-based suggestions for the institution of targeted temperature management/TH in a variety of emergency medicine settings

Who uses the fishery resources in South Africa’s largest impoundment? Characterising subsistence and recreational fishing sectors on Lake Gariep

The African Unionfs prioritisation of inland fisheries as an investment area for poverty alleviation and regional economic development will require the development of management plans. These should be based on sound knowledge of the social dynamics of the resource users. In South Africa the social dynamics of resource users of inland fisheries have never been assessed. The purpose of this study was to assess the human dimensions of the anglers utilising the fishery in Lake Gariep,South Africafs largest impoundment. The study was based on 357 first-time interviews conducted on the lakeshore between October 2006 and December 2007. Anglers were categorised as recreational (39%) or subsistence (61%) based on their residency, occupation, primary motivation for angling, mode of transport and gear use. Subsistence anglers were local (99%), residing within 10 km of the place where they were interviewed, while recreational anglers included both local resident and non-resident members. The racial composition of anglers was dependent on user group and differed significantly(p . 0.05) from the demographic composition of the regional population. Recreational anglers were predominantly White (. 60% of interviews) and Coloured (. 25%), while 84% of subsistence anglers were Coloured and 16% Black African. Most recreational anglers had permanent employment or were pensioners while <30% of subsistence anglers were permanently employed. Most recreational users (82%) accessed the lake with their own vehicle while subsistence anglers mainlywalked (63%) or used a bicycle (28%). Recreational interviewees either consumed (59%), sold (11%), gave away (10%) or released (20%) some of their catch. Subsistence anglers either ate their catch (53%) and/or sold (41%) their catch. Within the subsistence sector no anglers released fish after capture or gave some of the catch away. We conclude that this inland fishery contributes to the livelihood of the rural poor who use the lake on a subsistence basis and that recreational-angler based tourism may contribute to increased income and employment opportunities through related service industries

A Comparison of Methods to Concentrate Viruses from Environmental Waters Using MS2 as a Model

Viruses such as Rotavirus, Adenovirus and Norovirus are important etiological agents of gastroenteritis worldwide. With the high sensitivity and specificity of PCR, it is now possible to develop PCR-based methods to detect and quantify pathogenic viruses in environmental water samples. To develop reliable methods however, an effective procedure to concentrate viruses from large volumes of water is required. Because of the scale of concentration required, the procedure often requires two steps. The first to reduce tens of liters of water to less than half a liter and then a second to concentrate the sample to a final volume of less than 10 mL for RNA/DNA extraction. The objectives of the study were to compare the efficacy of hollow fiber ultrafiltration (HFUF) using F200B to that of an adsorption/elution method (AEM) using positively charged filters for concentrating viruses for the first step and to compare polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation to centrifugal ultrafiltration for the second step. A third objective was to determine the viral detection limit using real-time RT-PCR. Using beach water spiked with a singlestranded RNA bacteriophage (MS2) as a model, our results show a virus recovery rate of 84±6% and 18±8% for the HFUF method and AEM, respectively. For the second concentration step, we obtained a recovery rate of 49±5 % and 87±7% using PEG precipitation and centrifugal ultrafiltration, respectively. A potential limiting factor to more widespread using of HFUF is the higher cost and we found that cost can be reduced by using reusable filters. We were able to sanitize and reuse the same filter at least six times without affecting the virus recovery rate or the processing time

Development of a Probe Hybridization Method to Facilitate Detection of Noroviruses in Oysters

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that at least 50% of all foodborne outbreaks of gastroenteritis are due to noroviruses (NoV). Since NoV is mainly transmitted through the fecal-oral route and the infectious dose may be as low as 10 viral particles, the risk of infection after consumption of raw or improperly cooked seafood or after exposure to contaminated water is considered high. Although highly sensitive methods to detect NoV using RT-PCR are already available, isolation of either NoV RNA or virions from shellfish remains a cumbersome process. We developed a new hybridization method to extract NoV RNA from contaminated shellfish that is much faster compared to existing methods. Using the new method, NoV detection includes three basic steps: an initial extraction of total RNA using TRIZol, followed by isolation of NoV RNA using biotinylated DNA probe hybridization and then NoV detection by TaqMan RT-PCR. With oyster (Crassostrea virginica) homogenate spiked with 100 PCR detection units (PDU) of NoV, the virus can be detected with CT values at about 30. Compared to published methods that require an initial virus purification step, the new method is much faster, requiring approximately 3 hr compared to at least 8 hr using conventional methods. Coupled with TaqMan RT-PCR, the new method can be used to detect NoV in contaminated oysters and clams (Corbicula fluminea) within 8 hr. The detection limit was 100 PDU of NoV in spiked oyster tissue samples. The method has been successfully used to detect NoV in oysters artificially contaminated in the laboratory and in rare cases, oysters collected from the field

Methanogens as Ruminant-Specific Indicators of Fecal Pollution

Tracking the source of fecal pollution in surface waters has traditionally focused on the origin of enteric indicators including coliforms, enterococci, or E. coli. Recently, questions of genetic variability and environmental persistence have encouraged researchers to investigate additional animal specific indicators of fecal pollution. To date only eubacteria have been utilized as markers of human and animal-specific pollution. Here we report domestic ruminant-specific markers of fecal pollution utilizing methanogens found in the rumen. PCR primers for the mcrA gene of Methanomicrobium mobile (MMmcrA) and the nifH gene of Methanobrevibacter ruminantium (Mrnif-1) were designed, tested, and used to detect ruminant-specific pollution in fecal and environmental samples. The MMmcrA amplicons were detected in expected fecal and environmental samples (71% cow, 92% sheep, 50% goat, 100% cow lagoon samples, and 100% creek contaminated with cow lagoon waste), and were observed in only 5% of human and deer fecal samples. Mrnif-1 amplification was seen in 80% cow, 100% sheep, and 54% goat fecal samples; only 2% individual human samples were positive. No PCR amplification was observed when the MMmcrA and Mrnif-1 primers were tested against 47 bacterial stock cultures and fecal samples from 134 non-ruminant animals. More importantly, no amplification was observed in sewer samples using either primer pair. Sensitivity assays using MMmcrA primers demonstrated a detection limit of 0.01ng total DNA in bovine feces, 10ng in fecally contaminated surface water, and 5ng in cow lagoon samples