Family Security: Supporting Parents' Employment and Children's Development

Offers a policy framework combining support for full-time work with children's well-being and developmental needs: stability, health, nurturing, and activity. Calls for access to quality child care, parental leave time, and comprehensive family services

Does Providing Pre-Procedural Video Information Improve the Guardian’s Experience for Patients Undergoing Full Mouth Dental Rehabilitation in the Operating Room?

This purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to determine the effect of pre-procedural informational video for full mouth dental rehabilitation (FMDR) under general anesthesia (GA) on guardian knowledge, retention and anxiety. Guardians of patients presenting to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry for consult appointments to receive FMDR under GA were randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. In the experimental group, subjects watched an informational video and received written and verbal instructions regarding the upcoming FMDR appointment. The control group received written and verbal instructions only. On the day of the surgery, guardians completed a questionnaire which assessed knowledge retention for the procedure at hand and pre-procedural instructions along with the anxiety level of the parents. The difference in the knowledge retention between the two groups was evaluated using Kruskal-Wallis test. Overall anxiety score was compared using Kruskal-Wallis test. A total of 73 guardians participated in the study, 66 English speaking and 7 Spanish speaking (control=32, 44%; experimental=41, 56%). The median number of correct responses was 12 (IQR: 11-13). There was a significant difference between the two groups (p-value=0.0467) with the video group scoring a median of 13 (IQR: 11-14) compared to 12 (IQR: 10.5-13) for the control group. The median score was 8 (IQR: 6-10) for the group who viewed the video and 7 (IQR: 5-10) for the control group. Overall, 20% of the guardians reported that they were “Very Anxious” and an additional 41% indicated “Slightly Anxious” on the day of the procedure. Self-reported anxiety did not differ significantly between the two groups (p-value=0.6945). The video did influence guardian knowledge retention. Guardians have high levels of anxiety prior to their child’s FMDR under GA

The Second Generation in New York City: A Demographic Overview

The study analyzes the forces leading to or impeding the assimilation of a 18-32 year olds from immigrant backgrounds that vary in terms of race, language, and the mix of skills and liabilities their parents brought to the United States. To make sure that what we find derives specifically from the immigrant experience, rather than simply being a young person in New York, we are also studying a "control group" of people from native born white, black, and Puerto Rican backgrounds. The main sample is drawn from the inner part of the region where the vast majority of immigrants and native born minority group members live and grow up. Our study groups make possible a number of interesting comparisons. Unlike many other immigrant groups, the West Indian first generation speaks English, but the dominant society racially classifies them as black. We are interested in ways that their experiences resemble or differ from native born African Americans. Dominicans and the Colombian-Peruvian-Ecuadoran population both speak Spanish, but live in different parts of New York, have different class backgrounds prior to immigration, and, quite often, different skin tones. We have compared them to Puerto Rican young people, who, along with their parents, have the benefit of citizenship. Chinese immigrants from the mainland tend to have little education, while young people with overseas Chinese parents come from families with higher incomes, more education, and more English fluency. According to the 1990 Census, the base year for looking at the first generation parents, these five groups accounted for 45 percent of the immigrants who had arrived in metropolitan New York since 1970. Our ability to compare these groups with native born whites, blacks and Puerto Ricans has permitted us to analyze the effects of nativity while controlling for race and language background

Deciphering climatic controls on sedimentation in a tectonically active area, Cyprus

The late Neogene to Quaternary of Cyprus is considered to be a tectonically active period coeval with major climatic change. Uplift, associated with the activities of the supra-subduction zone to south of island was concomitant with global cooling, the expansion of the Northern Hemisphere Ice Sheets and the Middle Pleistocene Transition. Despite the globally significant climatic events during the period of deposition, the Plio-Pleistocene climatic record in Cyprus is largely unknown and for the most part ignored. The objective of this study was therefore to investigate the stratigraphical record of the ‘fore-arc’, with the intention of elucidating the mechanisms controlling the cyclicity on sedimentation, in an attempt to understand the uplift history. Sequence stratigraphical, palaeohydraulic, micropalaeontological and architectural analyses were conducted to provide an understanding of the sedimentary cyclicity, at key stratigraphical intervals. Correlation of the results to global patterns provided a robust method for deducing climatic controls on sedimentary deposition, thus leaving the residual record of tectonic uplift. Cyprus is critically located in a region sensitive to climatic perturbations and is positioned between two major oscillatory atmospheric cells (Hadley and Ferrel Cells). The position of the boundaries of these cells is governed by the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone, which is controlled by latitudinal temperature gradients and ice volume. The effect of the Northern Hemisphere Ice Sheets and its influence on the climate belts over the eastern Mediterranean has been examined and has allowed the recognition of distinct climatic and oceanographic conditions. The results indicate that the sedimentary evolution of the Cyprus ‘fore-arc’ responded to the progressive development of the Northern Hemisphere Ice Sheets and the orbitally controlled meridional movements of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone. Tectonics created the relief and source necessary for deposition, whilst climate provided the overriding control on internal architecture within the depositional systems

Exploring the Experiences of Successful First-Generation College Students At Selected Community Colleges

The purpose of this study was to examine how successful FGCS in community colleges addressed challenges they face in order to complete their degree programs. This study was based upon Titno\u27s (1993) Model of Student Departure and explored what methods and programs were most beneficial in helping FGCS overcome the challenges they faced as they worked on their degrees. This study explored each of the three categories discussed: (a) responsive social support; (b) financial preparation and acquisition; and (c) proactive academic preparation and encouragement through the use of semi-structured individual interviews. A more thorough understanding of how to assist FGCS benefits postsecondary staff and faculty who work closely with students. The results of this study can aid individual staff members as well as departments so they can better use and focus their efforts in assisting FGCS.;The findings in this study are essentially consistent with the findings in current research on first generation students with a few notable exceptions. The findings of this study supported those of other research indicating FGCS are for the most part not academically prepared for college; often have limited financial resources; and are not encouraged to attend college from a young age.;The findings of this study indicate previous research regarding social integration may not apply to FGCS in a community college setting. Although the participants did not fully meet the criteria for social integration, they did found a match between their social values, preferences, and behavioral styles with other members of the community and felt supported in their educational pursuits.;The findings of this study led to a number of implications for action. One implication is that colleges and universities need to do more to help secondary school students learn how to prepare for and what to expect at college. In addition, colleges and universities need to do more to help FGCS transition to the college experience. Colleges and universities also need to evaluate and consider revising how they offer services on campus in order to address FGCS\u27 schedules. One of the most critical steps colleges and universities need to take is to identify students who may need assistance

Cytoskeleton: A catastrophic kinesin

The 'plus' ends of microtubules exhibit dynamic instability, switching stochastically from growth to shortening phases. The first endogenous regulator of such 'catastrophes' has been identified, and is a kinesin-related microtubule motor protein